Trump Administration cancels trips of refugees who have already received authorization to resettle in the US

Donald Trump's administration canceled “until further notice” travel plans for refugees who had been approved to enter the United States before the January 27 deadline.

President Donald Trump's administration canceled travel plans for refugees who had been approved to enter the United States ahead of next week's deadline and put the country's refugee resettlement program on hold.

Thousands of refugees who fled war and persecution, and who had gone through a process that sometimes lasted years, are now stranded in various places around the world.

President Trump suspended the program this week as part of a series of executive orders to end irregular immigration. His move had left open the possibility that refugees who had been evaluated to come to the United States and had flights booked before the Jan. 27 deadline could enter.

But in an email dated Tuesday and reviewed by The Associated Pressthe US agency that oversees refugee processing and arrivals told staff and stakeholders that “refugee arrivals to the United States have been suspended until further notice.”

There are just over 10,000 refugees from around the world who have already gone through the lengthy refugee admissions process and were scheduled to travel in the coming weeks, according to a document obtained by the AP. It was not immediately clear how many of them planned to arrive before the next deadline.

Among them are more than 1,600 Afghans authorized to come to the United States as part of the program the Biden administration established after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

Many veterans of America's longest war have tried for years to help the Afghans they worked with, as well as their families, find refuge in the United States. Many were prepared for a suspension of the resettlement program, but hoped for special consideration for the Afghans.

“The Trump administration's early suspension of refugee flights is alarming, and leaves thousands of Afghan allies in fear and uncertainty,” said Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran and head of #AfghanEvac, a coalition that supports Afghan resettlement efforts. “We stand ready to partner to fix this and urge clear communication with affected families. Let's honor our promises and stand up for America's values.”

There is a separate track – the special immigrant visa program – specifically for Afghans who worked directly with the US government. VanDiver's group said that program, established by Congress, did not appear to be affected at this time.

Trump's order signed Monday had given the State Department a week before it began halting all processing and travel. The deadline appears to have been moved up, although it was not immediately clear what prompted the change.

The State Department referred questions to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Agencies that help refugees settle and adjust to life in the United States have argued that this is the type of legal immigration that Trump and his supporters say they like and have pointed to strict background checks and sometimes years-long wait that refugees endure before setting foot in the United States.

“This abrupt halt to refugee admissions is devastating for families who have already endured unimaginable hardship and waited years for the opportunity to safely rebuild their lives,” Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, director of Global Refuge, one of the 10 resettlement agencies of the United States.

Refugees are different from people who arrive directly at the US-Mexico border with the goal of eventually requesting asylum. Refugees must live outside the United States to be considered for resettlement and are generally referred to the State Department by the United Nations.

While the resettlement program has historically enjoyed bipartisan support, the first Trump administration also temporarily halted resettlement and then reduced the number of refugees who could enter the country annually.