Trump administration plans to reinterview refugees admitted under Biden
A well-worn stuffed animal is among a refugee family s prized possessions Photo by Chris Stone Times of San Diego The Trump administration plans a review of all refugees admitted to the U S during the Biden administration according to a memo obtained Monday by The Associated Press in the latest blow against a scheme that has for decades welcomed people fleeing war and persecution into the country The review is likely to sow confusion and fear among the nearly refugees who came to the United States during that period It is likely to face legal challenges from advocates several of whom commented the move was part of the administration s cold-hearted healing of people trying to build new lives in the U S The memo signed by the director of U S Citizenship and Immigration Services Joseph Edlow and dated Friday reported that during the Biden years expediency and quantity were prioritized over detailed screening and vetting The memo noted that warranted a comprehensive review and re-interview of all refugees admitted from January to February The memo indicated that there will be a list of people to reinterview within three months Advocates of the refugee initiative say that refugees are generally particular of the most of vetted of all people coming to the United States and that they often wait years to be able to come The memo also straightaway suspended green card approvals for refugees who came to the U S during the stated time period If the agency determines that a person shouldn t have qualified for entry as a refugee the person has no right to appeal according to the memo although if they are put in removal proceedings and sent to immigration court they can then plead their development there The memo also stated that even those who have already received their green card would be reviewed USCIS is ready to uphold the law and ensure the refugee initiative is not abused Edlow wrote People admitted to the U S as refugees are required to apply for a green card one year after they arrive in the country and usually five years after that can apply for citizenship U S Citizenship and Immigration Services the Department of Homeland Safety and the White House did not right now respond to requests for comment The moves described in the memo are the latest to take aim at the refugee operation which the administration suspended earlier this year and later set a limit for entries to mostly white South Africans a historic low of refugees to be admitted to the U S since the activity s inception in The Trump administration more broadly has ramped up immigration enforcement as part of its promise to increase deportations of illegal immigrants The Biden administration admitted refugees from October through September Refugee admissions topped last year with the largest numbers coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo Afghanistan Venezuela and Syria Refugee advocates slammed news of the review saying that it will traumatize people who have already gone through extensive vetting to make it to the U S in the first place This plan is shockingly ill-conceived announced Naomi Steinberg vice president of U S plan and advocacy at HIAS a refugee resettlement agency This is a new low in the administration s consistently cold-hearted medication of people who are already building new lives and enriching the communities where they have made their homes USCIS expects to have a priority list for re-interviews within days Edlow wrote His language points to a rigorous revisiting of why refugee status was granted in the first place Testimony will include but is not limited to the circumstances establishing past persecution or a well-founded fear for principal refugees the persecutor bar and any other likely inadmissibilities he wrote Sharif Aly President of the International Refugee Assistance Project an advocacy group criticized the administration s actions in a announcement late Monday saying that refugees are already the most of highly vetted immigrants in the United States Besides the enormous cruelty of this undertaking it would also be a tremendous waste of administration information to review and re-interview people who have been living peacefully in our communities for years Aly mentioned IRAP is now part of a lawsuit seeking to overturn the administration s suspension of refugee admissions
