Trump freezes 235,000 Green Cards, orders re-interview of refugees: 'Operational necessity'

The Donald Trump administration has made a major decision to reinterview certain refugees who were admitted to the US by the previous Joe Biden administration. Until the reinterview, the administration will not proceed with the process of granting the refugees a Green Card. Anyone admitted to the US as a refugee is eligible and required to apply for a Green Card after a year of living in the US.

CNN repported that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a memo that the administration is planning a comprehensive review and re-interview of all refugees admitted between January 20, 2021 and February 20, 2025 -- the period that captures the Biden administration.

'Operational necessity'

The administration called the decision an operational necessity to ensure that refugees do not pose a national security or public safety threat. They claimed that the previous administration did not sufficiently vet the people who entered the US. Around 235,000 refugees entered the US between 2021 and 2025 after proving to the administration that they were facing persecuttion in their home countries.

'Unspeakably cruel'

Mark Hetfield, the president of HIAS, a refugee resettlement organization, told CNN that the decision is unspeakably cruel. “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," he said. “They pass intensive reviews of their refugee status, background checks, and security screenings. The Trump administration knows this full well."

What will happen after re-interview?

• USCIS will terminate the refugee status of pepple if they are found not to meet refugee criteria.
• The memo said the USCIS will also review and re-interview refugees admitted outside the timeframe.
• USCIS may deny green cards even for those who already have them.
• There will be no appeal against the denial and the only legal option will be to contest the removal order in an immigration court.