WASHINGTON/NEW
YORK (Reuters) - The Trump administration will temporarily
delay processing of
most refugees from 11 countries identified as high-risk, while resuming refugee
admissions for other countries, government officials said on Tuesday. Most of
the affected countries are in the Middle East and Africa, according to
documents seen by Reuters.
The
administration also will place on hold a program that allows for family
reunification for some refugees resettled in the United States, according to a
Trump administration memo seen by Reuters and sent to Congress on Tuesday. The
resettling of so-called following-to-join refugees will resume, according to
the memo, once screening “enhancements have been implemented.”
U.S.
officials said the changes were aimed at protecting U.S. national security, but
refugee advocates said they amounted to a de facto ban on refugees from the 11
countries and were unnecessary, since refugees are already heavily vetted.
The changes
come at the close of a 120-day ban on most refugees ordered by President Donald
Trump to allow a review of vetting processes. The 120 days ended on Tuesday,
and Trump issued an executive order allowing the general resumption of the U.S.
refugee program.
The memo
expressed concerns about admitting refugees from the 11 countries and said the
government will conduct a 90-day review “to determine what additional
safeguards, if any, are necessary to ensure ... the security and welfare of the
United States.”
Trump took
office in January with a goal of sharply cutting refugee admissions, in line
with promises he made during the 2016 election campaign. He quickly issued
temporary bans on refugees and travelers from several Muslim-majority
countries, which were challenged in court.
Opponents of
the bans argued that the policies were aimed at barring Muslims from the United
States. The administration has denied any intent to discriminate and says its
travel ban and security changes are meant to protect the United States from
terrorist acts. The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the last remaining
challenge to an earlier version of Trump’s travel ban.
COUNTRY LIST
The 11
countries to face further hurdles are those whose refugees are currently
required to undergo higher-level security screening known as Security Advisory
Opinions, or SAOs.
As of the
end of 2016, SAOs were required for most adult male refugees who were nationals
of Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan,
Syria and Yemen, as well as Palestinians who lived in those countries,
according to a State Department document seen by Reuters. Three sources
familiar with refugee processing said that list was still current. Officials
declined to name the 11 countries.
A senior U.S.
official told reporters on condition of anonymity that during the 90-day review
period, refugees from the 11 countries can still be admitted to the United
States on a case-by-case basis, “if it’s deemed to be in the national interest
and they pose no threat.”
But the
administration’s memo, signed by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, acting
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke and Director of National
Intelligence Dan Coats, said the government will reallocate resources used to
process refugees from SAO countries to those from other locations where “the
processing may not be as resource intensive.”
Refugees
International, an advocacy group, said the decision amounted to “a new and
near-total ban on admission of refugees from 11 nationality groups.”
Citizens of
the 11 countries comprised 44 percent of the nearly 54,000 refugees admitted
into the United States in the 2017 fiscal year, according to State Department
data.
Of the
countries, Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Iran sent by far the most refugees to the
United States. All but two of the countries, North Korea and South Sudan, are
majority Muslim, though many of the refugees that come from those countries are
religious minorities in their own states.
Of nearly
2,600 Iranian refugees resettled in the United States last year, for instance,
a majority were Christian, according to State Department data.
The
“follow-to-join” refugee program being put on hold allows refugees who have
entered the United States to apply for close family members to join them. About
2,000 such refugee family members came to the United States in 2015, according
to DHS data.
In a
separate State Department memo seen by Reuters and issued this week, the
administration also laid out additional screening for all refugees seeking
admission into the United States, including details of their whereabouts going
back a decade, twice as long as before. Refugees will also have to provide more
detailed information about their family members.
The new
requirements could put an additional burden on refugees fleeing war, famine or
ethnic cleansing, whose lives have often been upended and whose family members
may be scattered across the world, refugee advocates said.
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