Trump鈥檚 Jan. 20, 2025, executive order discontinued regular refugee processing and halted all federal funding for refugee resettlement. It ended the State Department鈥檚 2023 , which allowed U.S. citizens to privately sponsor refugees, as well as and certain family members. Trump also suspended the .
Together, these programs make up the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Created in 1980, the program resettles refugees nationwide through partnerships between the government and U.S.-based resettlement agencies. It had made the U.S. in refugee resettlement.
As a scholar of refugees and displacement, I expect refugee admissions . Thousands of refugees, both at home and abroad, will suffer as a result. So will the many Americans who work within the country鈥檚 sprawling refugee resettlement network.
Brief history of US refugee policies
Under U.S. and international law, 鈥減ersecution or a well-founded fear of persecution鈥 due to race, membership in a particular social group, political opinion, religion or national origin.
While refugees have come to the U.S. since its founding, the was the country鈥檚 first official 鈥渞efugee鈥 law. The act, which expired in 1952, allowed more than to enter the U.S. within the constraints of an existing quota system that defined how many refugees the country would admit each year, and from which countries.
Between 1952 and 1980, numerous international refugee crises spurred Congress to pass a welcoming certain groups into the country.
played a major role in these decisions. For instance, as part of America鈥檚 Cold War anti-Communist strategy, Congress passed laws and giving fleeing Fidel Castro鈥檚 regime sanctuary in the U.S.
In the 1970s and 1980s, following its , the U.S. welcomed approximately from .
In 1980, Congress passed the , which amended to raise the and created a formal process for refugee resettlement.
Every year, through , the president in consultation with Congress establishes refugee admissions levels. This decision takes into account U.S. national interests and international humanitarian crises. The caps are announced in the fall.
On average, since 1980, the annual presidential determination number has exceeded 95,000 people. Since 2000, Presidential determinations have ranged from a low of 27,131 鈥 after the 9/11 attacks 鈥 to last year鈥檚 ceiling of .
How to get refugee status
To vet potential refugees and assist qualifying refugees in the resettlement process, several U.S. government agencies coordinate closely: The State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services.
To qualify for consideration, refugees must be living overseas. The with registration with the . U.N. officials collect documentation and perform an initial screening, then refer qualifying individuals to one of seven U.S. State Department resettlement support centers worldwide.
State Department officials interview applicants and submit them to a rigorous screening that includes an FBI background check. Highly trained immigration officers posted overseas then try to confirm whether applicants meet the legal standards of a refugee. They conduct face-to-face interviews to verify who they are and what forced them to flee. Testimonies are evaluated for consistency with country conditions.
The process takes 18 to 36 months or longer.
Once refugees are accepted into the U.S., in coordination with local nonprofit partners support them during their first 90 days in the country.
Previous suspensions
Critics of resettlement, including Trump, have argued that refugees , are and do not into the U.S. economy and society.
However, research show that refugees and socially through taxes and entrepreneurship. They also revitalize .
Between 2005 and 2019, refugees yielded a net positive fiscal impact of , at both federal and state levels, and generated an estimated $581 billion for governments at all levels. A report found that the spending power of refugees in just one state, California, totaled more than $20.7 billion.
There is no link between , nor is there any .
Although the 9/11 attacks were not committed by refugees, President George W. Bush in 2001 for several months, leaving already approved for resettlement in limbo, mainly in South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Many had sold their belongings and homes in anticipation of moving to the U.S.
In 2017, Trump in his first term in office issued . The directive suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days and barred entry of people from seven Muslim-majority countries 鈥 Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen 鈥 for 90 days. It also indefinitely banned Syrian refugees.
Trump also lowered the annual refugee admissions cap, from to in 2018, and continued dropping it each year. By 2021, his administration , at 15,000.
What happens when refugee resettlement pauses
The second suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program drastically affected refugees waiting abroad for resettlement and those already in the U.S.
with discrimination and , leading to poorer social integration.
The U.S. economy suffered, too. One researcher estimated that Trump鈥檚 2017 suspension of refugee resettlement and sapped public coffers at all levels of government of over $2 billion a year. who worked in refugee resettlement were laid off in 2017 alone.
Trump鈥檚 Muslim ban created an enormous backlog of immigration cases. In 2021, for instance, the incoming Biden administration inherited petitions for unprocessed refugee family reunification cases.
Many other vetted refugees , including U.S.-affiliated Iraqis and Afghans who remained trapped in violent contexts.
Immediate impact of Trump鈥檚 order on refugee resettlement
Similar repercussions are already seen today.
As of Jan. 22, 2025, the Trump administration had canceled the flights of into the U.S. Most of them were coming from the that the U.S. had accepted refugees from in recent years, including Venezuela, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Sudan and Iraq.
These of persecution and violence.
Recently arrived refugees, who would normally receive assistance for their first 90 days, are support for such as warm clothing, food and housing assistance.
of Trump cutting for refugee resettlement.
in government contracts allocated to assist new arrivals. They were forced to or in some cases hundreds of staffers.
the federal government for withholding congressionally appropriated funding for refugee processing and services. On Feb. 25, 2025, a federal judge in Seattle agreed with the plaintiffs in that Trump likely exceeded his authority and the refugee program鈥檚 suspension.
The legal battle over America鈥檚 refugee system has just begun. History suggests everyone involved with the program and the U.S. economy will suffer for years to come.
, Senior Professorial Lecturer of Global Governance, Politics and Security,
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