Trump Administration Cuts Refugees’ Deadline to Contest Status Termination, Raising Fears

The Trump administration is cutting the time refugees have to contest the termination of their status, a move critics say could put tens of thousands of people who fled persecution and wars in their home countries on a path to deportation.

The new policy, which goes into effect Wednesday, reduces from 30 to 10 the number of days refugees have to challenge the revocation of their status. It is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to restrict and transform a program that has served for decades as a pathway for refugees.

The goal of the new policy, according to the document, is to “mitigate potential risks” associated with people who were admitted as refugees but were not eligible for refugee status.

The policy does not say exactly how many people could be affected, but it specifically refers to refugees admitted during President Joe Biden’s administration, when it says there was an “alarming erosion of the integrity” of the refugee program. Refugee advocates dispute that claim.

The Trump administration is already reviewing the cases of at least 185,000 refugees admitted during the Biden administration who still have pending green card applications.

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Some maintain refugees will not have enough time to defend their status under the new policy.

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Refugees are individuals who applied for their status while outside the U.S., often while living in a refugee camp or a transit country. They undergo screening and processing abroad and are approved for and granted refugee status before arriving in the U.S. Once in the U.S. they can request the green card.

A refugee differs from an asylee, although both are individuals fleeing persecution in their home countries.

An asylum seeker submits a request upon arriving at the U.S. border or after already being within U.S. territory. The process can take several years. An asylee is someone who has already been granted asylum while residing in the United States.