Washington: When President Donald Trump suspended the refugee programme on day one of his current administration, thousands of people around the world who’d been so close to a new life in America found themselves abandoned.
As part of Trump’s crackdown on legal and illegal migration, the Republican president has upended the decades-old refugee programme that has served as a beacon for those fleeing war and persecution.
In October, he resumed the programme but set a historic low of refugee admissions at 7,500 — mostly white South Africans.
New restrictions were announced after an Afghan national became the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members last week. The Trump administration also plans a review of refugees let in during the Democratic Biden administration.
Trump’s administration has cited economic and national security concerns for its policy changes.
About 6,00,000 people were being processed to come to the US as refugees when the programme was halted, according to the administration. Aside from dozens of white South Africans let in this year, only about 100 others have been admitted as a result of a lawsuit by advocates seeking to restore the refugee programme, said Mevlüde Akay Alp, a lawyer arguing the case.
The Associated Press spoke to three families whose lives have been thrown into disarray because of the changing policies.
The Dawoods fled civil war in Syria and settled in northern Iraq.
They hoped to find a new home that could provide better medical care for a daughter who had fallen from the fourth floor of the family’s apartment rebuilding.
After they were accepted as refugees to the US, son Ibrahim and his sister Ava relocated to Connecticut in November 2024. His parents and one of his brothers were scheduled to fly in January.
But just two days before they were to board their flight, mother Hayat Fatah fainted at a medical check and her departure was postponed. Mohammed, another sibling, didn’t want to leave his parents behind. Nearly a year later, he and his parents are
still waiting.