US President Donald Trump’s administration has initiated a sweeping re-evaluation of refugees admitted during former President Joe Biden’s term, according to an internal memo obtained by Reuters.

The directive could reopen thousands of cases involving individuals who received US protection over the past four years.

The order covers an estimated 233,000 refugees who arrived between January 20, 2021, and February 20, 2025, the memo said. Signed by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joe Edlow, it also pauses the processing of permanent residency applications for those admitted under Biden. USCIS did not immediately comment publicly on the move.

When Trump returned to office in January, he moved quickly to restrict both legal and unauthorized immigration, including freezing refugee admissions worldwide. The approach stands in stark contrast to Biden’s policies, under which more than 100,000 refugees were resettled in fiscal year 2024.

Reasons cited in the memo

The CIS document, dated November 21, says the Biden administration may have emphasized “expediency, quantity, and admissions over quality interviews and detailed screening and vetting.” For that reason, it states, “a comprehensive review and a re-interview of all refugees admitted from January 20, 2021, to February 20, 2025, is warranted.” It adds that additional refugees admitted outside that period may also be subject to reassessment.

If during this process individuals are found not to meet refugee criteria, the government will revoke their protected status, the memo states.

In late October, Trump set the refugee admissions ceiling for fiscal year 2026 at just 7,500,  the lowest in US history, saying his administration would concentrate on admitting white South Africans of Afrikaner descent.

Criticism from advocacy groups

Democrats and refugee advocates have condemned the sharp scaling back of the program, arguing that it excludes people who have already undergone extensive security checks, have legitimate protection needs, and could contribute economically to the United States.

Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, called the new re-screening system “unnecessary, cruel, and wasteful,” noting that “refugees have already been more vetted than any other group of immigrants.” The review follows Trump’s January 20 executive order halting refugee resettlement, which argued that admissions must prioritize national security and that the US should “admit only those refugees who can fully and appropriately assimilate into the United States.”

Within weeks of that suspension, the administration also began pursuing plans to admit white South Africans, with Trump claiming they were facing persecution in majority-Black South Africa,  accusations the South African government has dismissed.