Trump administration plan to review Biden-era refugees sparks worry and uncertainty

The Trump administration’s plan to review all refugees admitted to the United States under the Biden administration is weighing heavily on people who could be affected by the evaluation, fueling uncertainty and worry among people who believed their status was secured.

The review was laid out in a memo obtained by The Associated Press and signed by the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, and dated Friday. It said that during Joe Biden’s presidency “expediency” and “quantity” were prioritized over “detailed screening and vetting.”

Advocates say that refugees, who flee conflict or persecution in their home countries, are some of the most highly vetted individuals to be allowed entry into the United States. They must overcome a yearslong process that involves waiting, paperwork and vetting before they eventually qualify for the coveted slots in the refugee program.

Once they have their status settled and arrive in the U.S., many rebuild their lives, form new communities and attempt to bring family over from abroad. Now, many fear those new ties and their futures in the U.S. are in question.

Here is a look at some reactions to the planned review:

‘Still a dream to be in America’

A Syrian refugee who came to the U.S. during the Biden administration said he and his family discussed the news of the review when it emerged on Monday. The refugee spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he feared he or his relatives could be targeted by U.S. authorities.

“It was and it still is a dream to be in America,” he said. “If they start sending back people to their home countries, you don’t have the rights that you have here and the opportunities.”

He and his family fled Syria at the beginning of the civil war there and went to neighboring Lebanon. It took them roughly a decade after applying to be allowed to come to the U.S.

“It was really an exciting thing to happen,” he said.

The memo said it would also review people who had already received their green cards and that green card approvals for refugees who came to the U.S. during the Biden administration would be suspended.

None of his family has their green cards yet.

Refugee advocates say review is ‘deepening distress’

Refugee advocacy groups have slammed the move, saying it will be an almost impossible task to reopen and re-interview the nearly 200,000 refugees who entered the country during the Biden administration.

They have panned it as part of a broader policy by the Trump administration to dismantle the country’s decades-old refugee program, which Trump suspended earlier this year and later announced he was capping entries to 7,500 mostly white South Africans over the next year.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association said the review was a “colossal waste of government resources.” It said the move called into question “whether any decision by the U.S. government is ever final or reliable.”

“Instead of honoring our legal and moral commitments, the administration is sowing fear and uncertainty and undermining the credibility of its own institutions,” it said.

“The reports of this policy are deepening distress for our clients,” said the International Rescue Committee in a statement. “This policy would needlessly retraumatize refugees who have survived unimaginable horrors, have waited decades in some cases for resettlement, and have just begun to rebuild their lives in the United States.”

It urged the administration to reconsider.

On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security stood by the memo and reiterated the administration’s claim that the Biden administration prioritized speed and quantity over strict vetting when it came to admitting refugees into the country.

“Corrective action is now being taken to ensure those who are present in the United States deserve to be here,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for Homeland Security, said in a statement.

Fear mounts beyond the program’s refugees

For now, details of the review have not been publicly announced, what has sowed fear beyond just the population of refugees that it applies to.

Afghans who came to the U.S. under separate programs and likely would not be affected by the review told The Associated Press they were concerned for their status, a reflection of the confusion wrought by the news reports about the memo and the administration’s fast-changing policies.

One Afghan who worked as an interpreter for the U.S. government in Afghanistan is now a medical doctor and a father of four living in Sacramento, California. He described the news as a shock.

“Trauma after trauma, stress after stress, anxiety after anxiety,” he said.

Both he and another 26-year-old man from Afghanistan spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity because they feared being targeted by the U.S. or Afghan authorities.

The 26-year-old man, who spent three years working as an interpreter with the U.S. Special Forces and helped with U.S. evacuations from Afghanistan, said he was concerned by the news.

“We went through a lot of screenings and processes before we got our status,” said the man. “We don’t know how this is going to turn out for us.”