An American flag (L) and Mexican flag (R) fly alongside the US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas on January 22, 2025. On his first day again in workplace US President Donald Trump declared a nationwide emergency on the southern border “to repel the disastrous invasion of our nation.” (Picture by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / Agence France-Presse)
WASHINGTON, United States — President Donald Trump has halted arrivals of refugees already cleared to enter the USA, in line with a memo seen Wednesday, as he rapidly pursues a sweeping crackdown on migration.
Following an government order signed Monday hours after Trump took workplace, “all beforehand scheduled journey of refugees to the USA is being canceled,” mentioned a State Division electronic mail to teams working with new arrivals.
The memo requested the UN Worldwide Group for Migration to not transfer refugees to transit facilities and mentioned that every one processing on circumstances has additionally been suspended.
Refugees already resettled in the USA will proceed to obtain companies as deliberate, it mentioned.
Trump in every of his presidential campaigns has run on guarantees to crack down on undocumented immigration.
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However the refugee transfer additionally targets a authorized pathway for folks fleeing wars, persecution or disasters.
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READ: Trump 2.0 begins with massive immigration crackdown
In his government order, he mentioned he was suspending refugee admissions as of January 27 and ordered a report on how you can change this system, partially by giving “higher involvement” to states and native jurisdictions, which he mentioned had been being “inundated.”
It additionally revoked his predecessor Joe Biden’s resolution to think about the affect of local weather change in refugee admissions.
Trump mentioned throughout his election marketing campaign that immigrants had been “poisoning the blood of our nation” and earlier rose to prominence questioning the citizenship of Barack Obama, the primary African-American president.
Shift at State Division
New Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, mentioned Wednesday that the State Division will “not undertake any actions that facilitate or encourage mass migration. ”
“Our diplomatic relations with different international locations, notably within the Western Hemisphere, will prioritize securing America’s borders, stopping unlawful and destabilizing migration and negotiating the repatriation of unlawful immigrants,” Rubio mentioned in an announcement.
The fence of the US-Mexico border is seen in Socorro, Texas, on January 22, 2025. On his first day again in workplace US President Donald Trump declared a nationwide emergency on the southern border “to repel the disastrous invasion of our nation.” (Picture by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / Agence France-Presse)
Biden had embraced the refugee program as a option to help folks in want by authorized means.
Within the 2024 fiscal 12 months, greater than 100,000 refugees resettled in the USA, essentially the most in three a long time.
The Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar have been among the many high sources of refugees lately.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the highest Democrat on the Senate Overseas Relations Committee, voiced alarm at Trump’s strikes and mentioned that acceptance of refugees was “a core American worth.”
“The US Refugee Admissions Program has a protracted historical past of bipartisan help and is a life-saving device for essentially the most susceptible refugees, all whereas making Individuals safer by selling stability around the globe,” she mentioned.
READ: Trump crackdown leaves migrants in tears: ‘Please allow us to in’
The State Division memo mentioned that Afghans who labored with the USA till the collapse of the Western-backed authorities in 2021 might nonetheless arrive by their separate resettlement program.
However Shaheen voiced concern that Afghans had been additionally being left in limbo with flights cancelled.
The UN excessive commissioner for refugees estimates that there are 37.9 million refugees on the earth, amongst some 122.6 million displaced folks.
Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of International Refuge, which advocates for refugees, mentioned that Trump’s resolution was “devastating” to individuals who had already misplaced a lot.
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“Refugees undergo one of the rigorous vetting processes on the earth, and it’s heartbreaking to see their desires of security derailed simply days earlier than, or in some circumstances, simply hours earlier than they had been set to start their new lives right here,” she mentioned.
