As of yesterday, 14 October 2026, the Trump administration has put in motion a new immigration policy. It was announced yesterday that, starting today, refugees will have 10 days instead of 30 to respond to a notice of termination of their status. This action aligns with Trump’s views on immigration, as the new policy could open the door to deportation for tens of thousands of people who fled their home countries and came to the United States.
This drastic reduction aims to “mitigate potential risks,” according to the Department of Homeland Security. The policy targets not only refugees but also reflects the Trump administration’s criticism of former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. The “potential risks” Homeland Security refers to concern refugees admitted to the country during Biden’s presidency. The administration claims that screening procedures during that period were weakened and rushed to speed up the process. Now, the cases of at least 185,000 refugees with pending green card applications are being reviewed.
Trump’s new policy has raised concerns among refugee advocacy groups, which are contesting the measure. They argue that 10 days is not nearly enough time to find a lawyer, translate documents or obtain records. Some refugees may not even receive the notice in time. Furthermore, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) says that termination of refugee status has historically been rare. IRAP is urging USCIS and Congress to take immediate action to halt the policy.
This measure is just one part of the broader restructuring of the US refugee program. Since Trump returned to office, his administration has suspended the program and subsequently reopened it, with policies that strongly favor white South Africans. Although the program has been described as “reopened,” the administration has set a ceiling of 17,500 refugee admissions for 2027. This represents a dramatic reduction compared with the annual ceiling of 125,000 admissions established during Biden’s presidency.
References:
Salomon, G. (2026, October 13). Trump administration cuts refugees’ deadline to contest status termination, raising fears. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/trump-refugees-immigration-deportation-fda84f5c5ebeb929cbc2c2dbeb92bf27
International Refugee Assistance Project. (2026, October 13). Trump administration lays groundwork for mass deportation of resettled refugees [Press release]. https://refugeerights.org/news-resources/trump-administration-lays-groundwork-for-mass-deportation-of-resettled-refugees
Mion, L. (2026, October 14). Trump administration slashes time refugees have to challenge loss of legal status. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-administration-slashes-time-refugees-challenge-loss-legal-status
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