Washington, D.C.—Church World Service is deeply alarmed by reports yesterday on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) plans to “review and re-interview” all refugees welcomed between January 20, 2021 and February 20, 2025. The order also requires the halt of all USCIS processing of green cards for refugees, even though the law states that refugees “shall” be considered for permanent residence after one year in the United States. Faith communities who supported these arrivals—and who work with CWS—expressed immediate outrage with the new directive.
According to the memo, the ‘review’ would apply to approximately 233,000 refugees—all of whom have already undergone extensive vetting and been approved and resettled in the United States. The process will reportedly focus on re-litigating the individual’s case for refugee status, including the circumstances establishing past persecution or well-founded fear, potential for ‘assimilation’, as well as other grounds for inadmissibility. The memo also states that the review could result in the termination of status—for which there would be no avenue to appeal outside of immigration court removal proceedings. Many other specifics of how the memo will be implemented remain unclear at this time.
CWS roundly condemns this cruel, illegal, and massively wasteful directive that continues the administration’s efforts to dismantle refugee protection.
“This administration’s disdain for refugees and newcomers is well-documented, yet it continues to find new ways to outdo itself. The decision to review and re-interview resettled refugees—who have already passed through the most stringent of vetting processes—is not merely a relitigation, but a retraumatizing of individuals who were assured of their safety and a chance to live free of persecution,” said Rick Santos, President and CEO of CWS. “For many, such a review process comes after fleeing some of the world’s largest and most violent displacement crises. They arrive in the United States wishing to heal and join our communities as parents, coworkers, volunteers, and parishioners. We owe them better.”
For over four decades, refugees have been the most vetted class of individuals to seek safety in the United States—requiring thorough and extensive biographic and biometric screening, an interagency vetting procedure, and multiple in-person interviews. Many of the refugees who will be subject to this review process waited for years before being approved for resettlement.
Under the proposed process over 233,000 refugees—who have been adjudicated, approved, and resettled in the United States—will be subject for review.
“Imagine surviving war or deadly persecution only to be told by the United States that you haven’t adequately established ‘well-founded’ fear nor the potential for ‘assimilation,’” added Santos. “This process is dystopian in nature, useless in practice, and cruel at heart.”
For more information or to speak with CWS Resettlement experts, contact media@cwsglobal.org.