On January 20, 2025, the Trump Administration issued an executive order (EO) titled “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program.” The order suspended final decisions on refugee cases and refugee entries to the United States; shortly thereafter, the Departments of State, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services indefinitely suspended new applications, case processing, and refugee-related funding. IRAP filed a lawsuit, Pacito v. Trump, challenging the suspension, and the court in that case has issued a preliminary injunction enjoining the suspension of USRAP. In this explainer IRAP provides information on the current status of the lawsuit and USRAP processing, along with an analysis of the implications of the EO.
1. What is the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program?
The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) is a U.S. government program that facilitates the resettlement of refugees in the United States. The Department of State (DOS) manages USRAP in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DOS and DHS work with international organizations like the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and Resettlement Support Centers to identify, vet, and process individuals fleeing persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. DHS adjudicates refugees’ applications. Approved refugees are resettled in the United States, where they receive support for integration and self-sufficiency. A number of programs are part of USRAP, such as the Welcome Corps private sponsorship program, the Central American Minors Program, and the Safe Mobility Initiative. The suspension of USRAP encompasses all of the refugee components of these programs.
2. What is the Pacito v. Trump lawsuit challenging the suspension of USRAP?
On February 10, 2025, IRAP, representing three national and local refugee-serving agencies and nine individuals filed Pacito v. Trump, the first lawsuit challenging President Trump’s EO suspending USRAP, as well as the efforts by the Trump Administration to decimate USRAP by withholding critical, Congressionally-appropriated funding for refugee processing and services. The new federal litigation, filed in the Western District of Washington, asks the court to declare the EO illegal, enjoin all implementation of the EO, and restore refugee-related funding. 1 IRAP originally published this explainer on January 22, 2025; we updated this explainer on January 28, 2025, February 14, 2025, and March 12, 2025 to reflect new developments including IRAP’s lawsuit and other updates. Information changes quickly. This explainer was last updated on March 12, 2025. This explainer is provided for informational purposes only and not as legal advice. 1 The court in Pacito v. Trump initially ordered a preliminary injunction at the conclusion of oral arguments on February 25, 2025 and issued a written preliminary injunction on February 28, 2025. The preliminary injunction enjoined the executive order and funding suspensions. However, on February 26, 2025, the government issued termination notices to resettlement agencies ending funding for refugee processing abroad and services for resettled refugees and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants in the United States. At an emergency hearing on March 4, 2025, the court noted that the contract terminations were a new factual development and permitted supplemental filings to address the terminations. The court also required the government to file a status report by March 10, 2025, detailing the government’s efforts to resume refugee processing. Please check IRAP’s website for updates related to the lawsuit.
3. What is the current status of USRAP processing?
The court in Pacito v. Trump issued a preliminary injunction that enjoined the USRAP suspension. Overall, while the court has ordered the government to resume refugee processing, the government has provided limited information on when USRAP will be fully operational again. Below is some information from a status report that the government filed on March 10, 2025 that addressed the status of USRAP processing:
● For Follow-to-Join Refugee applicants, the State Department has informed all consular offices to resume processing, including interviews, and individuals with approved applications may receive travel documents allowing independently booked travel.
● For all other refugee applicants, the government could not provide an estimate of when USRAP would be “restore[d] to operational status” and noted a “significant deterioration of functions throughout the USRAP.” Although the government reported adjudicating a small number of refugee applications, it is unclear when applicants will move forward with any other steps in the USRAP process.
● For resettlement services to refugees and SIV holders after arrival in the United States, the government reported that it has terminated all resettlement agency contracts, is preparing a request for proposals for a new resettlement agency in a process that would take at least three months, and is exploring alternative options but could not provide any details. Information changes quickly. This explainer was last updated on March 12, 2025. This explainer is provided for informational purposes only and not as legal advice.
The questions and answers below provide information about the EO suspending USRAP. As of the date of this explainer, the court in Pacito v. Trump has enjoined the EO and ordered the government to resume USRAP processing.
4. What did it mean to suspend the entry of refugees under USRAP?
Suspending refugee entry under USRAP meant the United States would not allow or facilitate the entry of approved refugees into the country as part of its resettlement program. During the suspension, no new refugees were admitted.
5. What did it mean to suspend USRAP adjudications and refugee case processing?
Suspending adjudications meant halting DHS’s final decision-making for refugee cases in USRAP. Suspending case processing meant halting other steps, including the creation of new cases, scheduling appointments, and reviewing and evaluating applications.
6. What did the suspension mean for people with pending USRAP cases?
Under the executive order, all pending USRAP cases, regardless of their stage, were paused for at least 90 days. Refugees who had completed interviews, been approved, or booked for travel did not travel. Those with cases in earlier stages of processing did not see their applications move forward. Security and medical clearances may have expired during the suspension, potentially requiring applicants to repeat steps in the process. The executive order did not explicitly terminate pending cases.
7. How did the suspension affect refugees whose cases were approved but who had not yet traveled to the United States when the suspension began?
According to guidance provided by DOS, at the time of the suspension all previously scheduled travel of refugees to the United States were canceled, and no new travel bookings were made.
8. Did the EO make exceptions to the suspension for urgent cases?
The executive order allowed for case-by-case exceptions in the discretion of the Secretaries of DOS and DHS. DOS and DHS needed to determine that entry is in the national interest and that the individual does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the U.S. The government did not release any information about how to request an exception. Information changes quickly. This explainer was last updated on March 12, 2025. This explainer is provided for informational purposes only and not as legal advice.
9. What did the suspension mean for people who want to file a new USRAP application?
During the suspension, no new referrals could be made into USRAP from UNHCR, NGOs, embassies and consulates, Welcome Corps, or direct applications.
10. Did this suspension affect Welcome Corps cases?
Yes. When implementing the suspension, the government suspended new Welcome Corps applications and processing of all pending applications.
11. Did this suspension impact refugee family reunification cases?
Yes. The suspension affected certain pathways for family reunification, including both Refugee Relative Petitions and the USRAP “Priority 3” family reunification pathway. As a result of the suspension, DHS had paused processing of refugee family petitions and DOS suspended processing of follow-to-join refugee (FTJ-R) cases at U.S. consular offices around the world. Processing of Asylee Relative Petitions and admissions of asylee derivative family members was not impacted by the EO.
12. Did the EO affect Afghan SIV cases?
No, Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) cases were not directly affected by the executive order, but other Trump Administration actions have affected SIV applicants. The SIV program is an immigrant visa program, not a refugee resettlement program. Therefore, this order did not affect consular processing for SIV applicants. DOS should have continued to adjudicate applications, schedule interviews, and issue SIVs. However, the Trump Administration’s implementation of a different Executive Order on “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid” has led to a suspension of flights for SIV holders as well. Additionally, while SIV holders can book their own travel to the United States, a separate Trump Administration direction to resettlement agencies to stop work on (and a later agency decision to terminate) federal grants that provided refugee benefits to SIV holders has impacted the availability of Reception & Placement (R&P) Services. R&P Services include health and medical referrals, employment services, English classes, and more. Information changes quickly. This explainer was last updated on March 12, 2025. This explainer is provided for informational purposes only and not as legal advice.
13. What is the status of departure assistance flights for Afghans in Afghanistan?
Coordinator for Afghanistan Relocation Efforts (CARE) departure assistance from Afghanistan is separate from USRAP refugee processing. The State Department has not made a public announcement, but there are reports that all departure assistance flights have been cancelled due to a lack of capacity at locations where Afghans complete processing. There have also been reports that CARE has been told to develop plans for closure.
14. Did the EO cut funding for refugees or SIV applicants who already resettled to the U.S.?
Although the EO suspending USRAP did not address funding for refugees already in the U.S., in January the Trump Administration instructed all resettlement agencies to stop work under federal grants that provide funding to resettlement agencies to provide services to resettled refugees and SIV applicants. This has significantly impacted the ability of some refugees and SIV holders who are in the U.S. to receive services. On February 26, 2025, the State Department issued termination notices to resettlement agencies ending funding to resettled refugees and SIV applicants. On March 10, 2025, in a report to the court in Pacito v. Trump, the government wrote that it is preparing a request for proposals “for a new resettlement agency that could provide reception and placement services for resettled refugees. The solicitation process is expected to take at least three months.”
15. What did the executive order say was the reason for the suspension?
The executive order claimed the need to assess domestic capacity to receive refugees and reassess the security screening and vetting processes for refugees. The order also claimed the need to conduct a comprehensive review of the program to evaluate its effectiveness, efficiency, and alignment with U.S. foreign and domestic policy goals. Such a review was conducted during the first refugee ban in 2017. Much of the language in the new executive order was identical to the language used in the 2017 ban.
16. When did the EO say the USRAP would have resumed?
The executive order mandated that within 90 days of its issuance, and every 90 days thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, Information changes quickly. This explainer was last updated on March 12, 2025. This explainer is provided for informational purposes only and not as legal advice. 5 submit a report to the President assessing whether resuming refugee admissions aligns with U.S. interests. The first report would have been due by April 20, 2025, and refugee adjudications, case processing, and admissions would have remained suspended until a decision was made. The implementation of the EO, including this section on reporting and resumption, is currently enjoined.
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posted on: March 21, 2025