RCUSA Strongly Denounces Trump Administration’s Latest Attacks on Resettled Refugees, Placing Them At Risk of Return to Persecution

Washington, DC – Refugee Council USA (RCUSA) unequivocally denounces the cruel and unlawful interim final rule (IFR), released today, significantly reducing from 30 days to 10 days the notice of intent to terminate (NOIT) refugee status, ensuring refugees would have no meaningful time to respond to efforts by the federal government to terminate their refugee status, making them vulnerable to deportation to places where their lives may be in danger. The IFR, which bypasses ordinary notice-and-comment procedures, will take immediate effect when it is published in the Federal Register on October 14. 

This unprecedented action marks a dramatic departure from U.S. law and longstanding humanitarian commitments. It represents a severe threat to the safety, stability, and dignity of people who fled persecution, conflict, or violence and to whom our country promised freedom, safety, and a permanent new home.

This rule follows a series of directives from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), ordering a sweeping review of more than 200,000 individuals admitted to the United States through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) during the previous administration. Reopening their cases is already a cruel, wasteful exercise, retraumatizing refugees already subject to this “re-vetting” process and serves only as pretext to remove refugees to countries where their lives may be in danger or they face persecution. This rule is devastating to the refugee community who have spent the last several years rebuilding their lives in safety and become cherished neighbors. 

“The human consequences of this rule are grave,” said John Slocum, Executive Director of RCUSA. “Thousands of men, women, and children who found safety and invested in our communities through work, school, volunteering, or providing resettlement services themselves will now face fear, uncertainty, and destabilization. The Trump administration has already corrupted the U.S. resettlement program for its ideological purposes. Resettled refugees should not face rapid-fire revocations of their status under this cruel, inhumane policy. It not only undermines the rule of law, but also betrays our nation’s humanitarian leadership. We urge the administration to immediately rescind this rule and call on Congress to do everything in their power to safeguard refugees who have been welcomed by communities across the country.”

This rule comes alongside the administration’s ongoing green card processing and adjudication halt impacting resettled refugees. The ongoing green card freeze means more than 185,000 refugees who are eligible to receive a green card, and who have applied through a nondiscretionary process, are stuck in limbo. RCUSA calls on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and USCIS to rescind this IFR and halt unnecessary re-vetting of refugees who are already among the most vetted individuals to arrive in the United States. We further urge DHS and USCIS to immediately and fully resume processing of refugee I-485 green card applications and create a clear mechanism for members of Congress to request expedited processing particularly for individuals with severe medical conditions.

Media Contact: Meredith Owen, meredithowen@rcusa.org 

RCUSA is a diverse coalition advocating for just and humane laws and policies, and the promotion of dialogue and communication among government, civil society, and those who need protection and welcome. Individual RCUSA members do not all address all refugee-related issues, nor do all individual members approach common refugee-related issues identically.

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