Since taking office, President Trump has issued hundreds of executive orders, memoranda, and proclamations, many of which pertain directly to immigration, asylum, and refugee resettlement. These actions, along with additional executive orders and legislation expected in the weeks and months ahead, are poised to reshape United States immigration policy in a significant way for many years to come.
In response, HIAS has launched a series summarizing important developments and explaining what they mean. These recap posts, along with relevant articles, statements, and resources, can be found at a page we’ve built to track the new administration’s effect on displaced people.
This week, we review how actions recently taken by the Trump administration impact refugees and other displaced people.
Standoff in Kilmar Abrego Garcia Case Continues
What happened: The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident deported to El Salvador due to an “administrative error” and placed in the notorious CECOT prison, continued to dominate headlines this week. During a visit at the Oval Office on Monday, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and President Trump both claimed to be powerless to remove Garcia and return him to the United States, where he lives with his family. The following day, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said she would require the Trump administration to produce records and sworn answers about the government’s attempts to bring Garcia back and threatened to issue a contempt ruling. And on Wednesday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) flew to El Salvador to visit Garcia. After initially being denied access, Van Hollen was eventually able to meet with him — but Garcia still has not been able to return to his home in the United States.
What it means: The Trump administration’s refusal to facilitate Garcia’s return, as required by the Supreme Court, is chilling for reasons that go beyond a simple defiance of a court order. If a person legally permitted to be in the United States can be deported to a foreign country and left to rot indefinitely in prison, then the basic civil liberties of all Americans are in doubt. In the specific case of Garcia, the Trump administration’s actions are more troubling still: a judge in 2019 had granted Garcia protection from deportation after determining that his life would be at risk should he return to El Salvador.
Garcia’s case is certain to remain a major news story in the coming weeks, as the White House faces pressure from Judge Xinis to comply with her ruling and additional Democratic lawmakers arrange visits to El Salvador. Read HIAS’ statement on the detention in El Salvador of Garcia and other deportees.
Judge Says Trump Likely Acted in Contempt of Court by Not Turning Around Deportation Flights
What happened: On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said that the Trump administration likely acted in contempt of court by refusing to turn around planes carrying Venezuelan deportees to the CECOT prison in El Salvador. In March, Boasberg ruled that the administration could not use the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, to El Salvador.
What it means: The Trump administration’s defiance of Judge Boasberg’s order not only raises crucial concerns about the rule of law in the United States — it is also an example of the president’s draconian, unjust immigration policy. Independent analysts have found little evidence that many of the more than 200 men deported to El Salvador had ties to Tren de Aragua; some, in fact, were detained simply due to having suspicious tattoos.
Justice Department Directs Judges to Deny Asylum Without Hearings
What happened: A Trump administration policy implemented last week directs immigration judges to deny asylum hearings to immigrants whose cases are unlikely to succeed. This ruling would enable judges to circumvent the usual hearing process and would prevent asylum applicants from presenting their cases in court.
What it means: The administration’s denial of asylum hearings to immigrants represents another abrogation of due process rights and will result in the unjust rejection of many legitimate asylum claims. The claim that this directive is done simply to address the backlog of asylum cases is, at best, disingenuous: the Trump administration has yet to fulfill a pledge to hire more immigration judges, and in fact has reduced the number as part of the government-wide reductions in staff.
Give today
As the world's oldest refugee agency, HIAS will always stand for refugees — no matter who is president. And we will do all we can to support our clients, every day, as we have for more than 120 years. Give with confidence to HIAS.
U.S. Department of Justice Reduces Size of Board of Immigration (BIA)
What happened: On Monday, the Justice Department reduced the number of BIA staff from 28 to 15, saying that the larger number had “not brought about hoped-for increases in productivity” and has added structural inefficiencies.
What it means: The stated explanation for this change — eliminating inefficiencies — does not adequately explain how nine of those removed from the board had been appointed by the Biden administration. As pending cases at the BIA have increased nearly tenfold in the last decade, reducing the size of the board by nearly half will only worsen an already daunting backlog, working at cross-purposes with the administration’s stated justification for its move to deny asylum hearings.
Judge Temporarily Blocks Termination of Legal Status for Immigrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Venezuela (CHNV)
What happened: U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani blocked the Trump administration from moving forward on its plan to terminate the parole status of hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Nicaraguans, Haitians, and Venezuelans, until April 24. Talwani ruled that mass parole terminations could not proceed without case-by-case review.
What it means: The ruling grants a temporary reprieve for the more than 500,000 people admitted into the United States through CHNV, in what had been a signature policy from the Biden administration to reduce irregular migration at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Trump administration’s attempt to remove their legal residency and work permit rests on the fallacious notion that CHNV holders represent a threat to the economy and national security of the United States.
Trump Administration Ends Temporary Protected Status for Residents from Afghanistan and Cameroon
What happened: On April 11, the Trump administration terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from Afghanistan and Cameroon. An estimated 14,600 Afghans eligible for TPS will now lose it in May, while nearly 8,000 Cameroonians will lose it in June.
What it means: Many Afghans eligible for TPS worked with the U.S. military during the two-decade war in Afghanistan and would be subject to Taliban reprisal if forced to return to the country. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem offered little evidence for her claim that conditions in Afghanistan and Cameroon had improved enough to facilitate the end of TPS for nationals from those countries.
Give today
As the world's oldest refugee agency, HIAS will always stand for refugees — no matter who is president. And we will do all we can to support our clients, every day, as we have for more than 120 years. Give with confidence to HIAS.