A Little-Known Rule Surfaces As Trump Admin Reopens The Books On Refugees

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers can now detain refugees who haven’t obtained green cards within their first year in the United States as part of a larger crackdown on fraud and potential national security threats, according to a new federal memo.

The Trump administration is now instructing federal officers to arrest the refugees and “re-vet” them, according to the memo, which was obtained by CBS News. The Feb. 18 memo states that refugees who haven’t become legal permanent residents after one year, meaning they never obtained a green card, must avail themselves to federal immigration authorities to have their cases reviewed.

If they fail to do so voluntarily, they may face arrest by ICE.

ICE can then hold them “for the duration of the inspection and examination process,” according to the memo, which came from acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow.

“The detain-and-inspect requirement ensures that refugees are re-vetted after one year, aligns post-admission vetting with that applied to other applicants for admission, and promotes public safety,” the memo reads.

“The changes are designed to better enforce the statutory requirement that aliens admitted as refugees who have been present in the United States for at least one year return or be returned to DHS custody for inspection and examination for admission as an LPR [legal permanent resident]. They further reflect the public policy interest in thorough vetting of aliens admitted as refugees, including vetting for national security, public safety, and fraud-related issues.”

Former ICE New York field office deputy director Scott Mechkowski told The Daily Wire that the move is “essential,” given “evolving global threats.”

“This ensures that our immigration system remains resilient against potential fraud or emerging risks and thereby protecting American communities and upholding the integrity of our humanitarian commitments without compromising public safety,” Mechkowski said.

Previously, refugees couldn’t be detained solely because of their failure to get residency within their first year in the United States, according to CBS. ICE also had just 48 hours to decide whether to release refugees or place them into deportation proceedings if there were any red flags.

Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and current resident fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, told The Daily Wire “that the prior policy was not consistent with the language of section 209(a) of the INA [Immigration and Nationality Act],” which states that refugees who fail to obtain a green card in the first year “shall, at the end of such year period, return or be returned to the custody of the Department of Homeland Security for inspection and examination for admission.”

“The whole idea behind that refugee scheme is that certain foreign nationals are so endangered that we must allow them in, and then we will complete the inspection after they have been here for a year — a fact that should be clear from the statute,” Arthur said.

Many refugees let in during the Biden administration “may not have met the definition of ‘refugee'” as spelled out in the Immigration and Nationality Act “because they lacked a well-founded fear of persecution on account of the five factors (race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion) therein,” Arthur said.

Last year, the Trump administration set the refugee cap at the lowest level in the country’s history, allowing just 7,500 immigrants to enter. The federal government also commenced a review of refugees brought into the country during the Biden administration, according to CBS.

An Afghan national who was brought into the country by the Biden administration in 2021 shot two National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 26. Specialist Sarah Beckstrom tragically succumbed to the injuries she sustained in the ambush.

The attack sparked a pause on all immigration applications from foreigners who hail from “high risk” countries.

Refugee advocates say the latest move by the Trump administration will open the floodgates for the Trump administration’s deportation campaign.

“This policy is a transparent effort to detain and potentially deport thousands of people who are legally present in this country, people the U.S. government itself welcomed after years of extreme vetting,” said Beth Oppenheim, the CEO of HIAS, which helps with refugee resettlement, according to CBS.