‘Unspeakably cruel’: Trump administration will subject refugees admitted under Biden to more vetting, report says

The Trump administration is planning to re-interview and potentially revoke the status of hundreds of thousands of refugees admitted to the U.S. during the Biden administration, the latest move by the White House to drastically curtail resettlements inside the U.S.

A signed November memo directs U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to review and re-interview all of the roughly 233,000 refugees who were admitted to the country between January 20, 2021 and February 20, 2025 and blocks processing of green card applications from refugees admitted during that time period.

It criticizes the prior administration for allegedly having “prioritized expediency and quantity,” and characterizes the unprecedented move to reexamine every refugee admission during former president Joe Biden’s time in office as a necessary measure to assess national security vulnerabilities.

The memorandum also asserts that USCIS can do the same for refugees who were admitted into the United States before January 2021, in effect permitting the administration to potentially deport any and all refugees admitted into the United States who have not yet acquired citizenship.

In addition, USCIS plans to re-interview the spouses, children and other family members of refugees who might have joined them since coming to the United States.

The purpose of the interviews is to determine whether those who were granted refugee status actually met the statutory definition of a refugee at the time and inquire as to whether the Biden administration improperly granted waivers or exceptions to policies that would have ordinarily barred any individuals from receiving refugee status.

Trump administration figures and anti-immigration advocates have alleged — without evidence — that the Biden administration improperly prioritized speed of processing refugee applications and high admission numbers over the need to properly vet applicants, particularly those from majority-Muslim countries such as Afghanistan.

Refugee advocates slammed the potential move, arguing that such immigrants are among the most vulnerable to have sought shelter in the U.S. and already have passed through a rigorous, typically multi-year process to verify they have credible fears of persecution.

“Just the threat of this is unspeakably cruel. … To threaten refugees with taking away their status would be re-traumatizing and a vicious misuse of taxpayer money,” Mark Hetfield, the president of HIAS, told CNN.

The Independent has contacted USCIS for comment.

The Trump administration has largely shut down the refugee admissions process, setting a refugee cap of 7,500 people for the coming year, with a preference for white Afrikaners from South Africa.

The president has repeatedly and baselessly claimed the group is facing a genocide in South Africa, despite officials in that country, data, courts, and Afrikaner groups saying no such genocide is under way.

The administration is reportedly mulling other provisions that would have the effect of largely favoring white refugees, including a proposal to favor Europeans and English-speakers.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration canceled contracts with refugee resettlement providers.

Outside of the refugee program, the White House has taken steps to reduce immigration protections for the most vulnerable, including canceling Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from a variety of unstable and war-torn nations, most recently this week for individuals from Myanmar.

Naturalized citizens also fear their status may be under threat, given the Trump administration’s unprecedented attempts to end birthright citizenship.

The moves follow similar restrictions during Trump’s first term, when refugee admissions sunk to what was then an all-time low.