SILVER SPRING, Md. —HIAS denounces the outrageous new policy published today by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that will make it easier for the Trump administration to terminate the legal status of people who were resettled through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), and ultimately quickly remove them from the United States, potentially sending them right back into harm’s way. The new policy will reduce the number of days that someone has to challenge the effort to terminate their refugee status from 30 days to just 10 days, making it essentially impossible for someone to obtain legal counsel and state their case for why their refugee status should not be terminated. The new policy also reaffirms that US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) may place someone who was admitted as a refugee directly in removal proceedings, without a formal termination of refugee status. Together, these policies put vulnerable people at risk, and fundamentally alter the decades-old system established to protect people fleeing persecution.
“The release of this new policy marks a new low, in a parade of lows, in this administration’s ongoing effort to make permanent protection for refugees in this country a thing of the past,” said Naomi Steinberg, HIAS Vice President, Refugee, Immigration Policy and Advocacy. “First, the administration shuttered refugee admissions. Now, they are trying to upend the core principle that refugee resettlement represents permanent protection. If this policy is allowed to go into effect, America can no longer claim to be the place of refuge and hope that it once was.”
What makes this new policy particularly egregious is the people it will harm. Refugees who arrived through USRAP were vetted, approved, and welcomed into the United States with the promise that they finally found permanent safety.
“Stripping away the security promised to refugees, and with little to no procedural safeguards, shatters our promise to them and sends a devastating message to both refugees and their persecutors alike: that even the most lawful and carefully vetted path to protection in the United States can be arbitrarily revoked,” continued Steinberg.
The consequences of this policy could be immediate and devastating. Refugees who have already endured violence, persecution, and displacement will now be at greater risk of being sent to countries where they face significant harm, persecution, or torture. HIAS is deeply concerned for the safety of our clients and for resettled refugees throughout the country who do not yet have their green cards.
HIAS stands in solidarity with the many thousands of refugees that we have resettled, and will never stop advocating for the dignity, fairness, and humanity they deserve.
For press inquiries, please contact media@hias.org.
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HIAS is a 145-year-old international Jewish humanitarian organization dedicated to transforming the lives of refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants. With a sharpened focus, we deliver vital support through protection services, mental health care, economic empowerment, Jewish community engagement, and robust advocacy—defending the rights of all displaced people to rebuild their lives and creating a world of welcome, safety, and opportunity.