Trump allows new screening in refugee admissions
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday allowed the resumption of refugee admissions into the U.S. under new, stricter screening rules but ordered nationals from 11 countries believed to pose higher risk to U.S. national security to face even tougher scrutiny.
Officials refused to identify the 11 countries, but said refugee applications from those nations will be judged case-by-case.
Trump issued his new order on refugee screening as the administration’s four-month ban on refugee admissions expired. It directs federal agencies to resume refugee processing, which he clamped down on shortly after taking office.
The new “enhanced vetting” procedures for all refugees include such measures as collecting additional biographical and other information to better determine whether refugees are being truthful about their status; improving information-sharing between agencies; stationing fraud detection officers at certain locations overseas; and training screeners to weed out fraud and deception.
“The security of the American people is this administration’s highest priority, and these improved vetting measures are essential for American security,” said acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke.
Jennifer Sime, senior vice president of U.S. programs for the International Rescue Committee aid group, said in advance of the announcement that she was concerned the new screening procedures would add months or even years to the most urgent refugee cases.
“With a world facing brutal and protracted conflicts and new levels of displacement — this moment is a test of the world’s humanity, moral leadership and ability to learn from the horrors of the past,” she said.
Even with the refugee ban lifted, admissions are expected to be far lower than in recent years.
Trump last month capped refugee admissions at 45,000 for the year that started Oct. 1, a significant cut from the | 110,000 limit put in place a year earlier by President Barack Obama. The actual number admitted this year could be lower than 45,000, since the cap sets a maximum limit, not a minimum.
In a separate action Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a case about the refugee ban. An order from the justices wipes away a lower-court ruling that found problems with the refugee ban and with a temporary pause on visitors from six mostly Muslim countries.
The limits on refugees were in addition to Trump’s broader “travel ban” on people from several countries. Courts have repeatedly blocked that policy, but largely left the temporary refugee policy in place.
Besides the travel ban, which initially targeted a handful of Muslim-majority nations, the president rescinded an Obamaera executive action protecting immigrants brought to the country as minors from deportation. He has also vowed to build a wall along the border with Mexico.
During the presidential campaign, Trump pledged to “stop the massive inflow of refugees” and warned that terrorists were smuggling themselves into naive countries by posing as refugees fleeing war-torn Syria.
“Thousands of refugees are being admitted with no way to screen them and are instantly made eligible for welfare and free health care, even as our own veterans, our great, great veterans, die while they’re waiting online for medical care that they desperately need,” Trump said last October.
Trump has said the best way to help refugees is to keep them closer to their home countries.