Refugee Congress Decries Administration for Move to Reinterview Rigorously Vetted Resettled Refugees

November 25, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Trump administration has expressed its intent to reinterview refugees admitted under the Biden administration. This latest move by the administration is yet another baseless and shameful attempt to decimate the refugee resettlement program, a program that has enjoyed bipartisan support since it was created forty-five years ago.

Refugees who have been resettled to the United States – under the Biden administration and for decades before – have successfully cleared rigorous, years-long vetting processes conducted by multiple government agencies. 

This latest directive is not about safety; it is cruelty, pure and simple. Refugees have jumped through every hoop imaginable to get here – waited years in precarious conditions, retold the most traumatic experiences of their lives to strangers again and again, had every detail of their lives probed with suspicion, and undergone medical and biometric screenings. Reinterviewing resettled refugees will not yield anything but wasted time and resources at taxpayer expense.

The announcement comes on the heels of a presidential determination that not only exponentially reduces the number of refugees to be admitted this fiscal year, but also belies the very definition of a refugee. Since its inception, the refugee program has been reserved for the most vulnerable – people who have been forced to flee their country due to persecution, war, or violence. Yet, this president has slammed the door shut on the very people who meet this criteria, while fast-tracking the arrival of populations that do not meet the refugee definition. 

Refugee Congress denounces in the strongest terms these dehumanizing attempts to intentionally uproot hard-working community members from their homes just as they are rebuilding their lives in safety. We must uphold the commitments we made to those seeking safety, especially when the need for humanitarian leadership at home and abroad is greater than ever. 

Media Contact:

Jen Lee Reeves media@refugeecongress.org

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