USA Report: Trump administration wants to check status of refugees
According to a media report, US President Donald Trump's administration wants to review the refugee status of many people living in the USA.
25.11.2025, 03:18
SDA
It must be ensured "that refugees do not pose a threat to national security or public safety", reported CNN, citing an internal government document and a person familiar with the matter.
According to the report, the planned review relates to refugees who came to the US during the term of Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden - i.e. in the period from 2021 to 2025. In these years, around 235,000 people would have sought protection in the United States under the affected program.
Refugee organization voices harsh criticism
CNN spoke of an "unprecedented step". The New York-based refugee organization IRAP ("International Refugee Assistance Project") strongly condemned the plan. The order puts pressure on particularly vulnerable people, it said in a statement. Refugees in the US admissions programme have already undergone particularly thorough checks; the planned mass screening would also be an unnecessary burden on the authorities, IRAP criticized.
Trump administration has already reduced the number of admissions
Trump's government is cracking down on migrants - and not just those without valid residence status. It is also increasingly targeting people who have sought protection from political persecution or violence in the USA, for example from Venezuela or Haiti. The authorities regularly paint a blanket picture of criminal migrants. Critics of the government's stance, on the other hand, emphasize that people without regular residence status tend to commit fewer crimes for fear of deportation, according to studies.
The government's decision to drastically reduce the annual maximum limit for the admission of refugees - and to give preference to white South Africans - has recently attracted criticism. In future, only up to 7,500 refugees are to be accepted per year; the previous limit was 125,000.
