Unreliable asylum: the United States may deprive hundreds of thousands of people of refugee status

The US authorities are tightening migration policy. The White House is preparing mass inspections of 233,000 refugees who received their status under former President Joe Biden. At the same time, Donald Trump's struggle with migrants has also affected more than 200,000 Ukrainians who entered the country under the Uniting for Ukraine program — the US president had previously suspended the extension of their legal status. Trump's new initiatives regarding newcomers have once again exposed the split in American society — supporters and opponents of harsh measures turned out to be about equally divided. Mass deportations led to a shortage of workers in some sectors of the economy, which is why the business lobby began to put pressure on the White House. Whether Trump has managed to reduce the migration flow to the United States is in the Izvestia article.

Mass checks are expected for refugees in the United States

The White House has ordered a large-scale check of all refugees who entered the country and received this status under former President Joe Biden. This was reported by the American media with reference to an internal memo from the US government. According to the memorandum signed by Joe Edlow, director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the check will affect 233,000 refugees who moved to the United States from January 20, 2021 to February 20, 2025.

New U.S. citizens take the oath of allegiance to the United States during the naturalization ceremony

Photo: TASS/EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) revokes refugee status for persons already in the United States if it is determined that they do not meet the criteria. "This is an unprecedented step that could lead to the reopening of the cases of thousands of people who sought protection in the United States," writes Reuters. The United States also intends to suspend the processing of applications for permanent residence permits, which will eventually lead to a decrease in the flow of refugees.

At the same time, it should be understood that during the years of Joe Biden's presidency, 5-7 million illegal migrants entered the United States, according to various estimates, which is several times higher than the share of official refugees, American scholar Malek Dudakov noted in a conversation with Izvestia. On the other hand, there is no doubt that Trump's anti-immigration policy will affect everyone without exception.

— I think that many refugees will now be deprived of their official status. This will affect immigrants from Venezuela, Haiti and Ukraine. Of course, they will have problems with future visas and official status in America," the political scientist said.

However, it is worth noting that since April 2022, most Ukrainians have entered the country under the "Uniting for Ukraine" (U4U) program. We are talking about about 260 thousand people. This program does not grant official refugee status, meaning these people should not be subject to current screening. But at the same time, Trump had previously suspended consideration of applications for the extension of the status of participants in the U4U program, which is why today almost 200 thousand Ukrainians are at risk of losing it. Due to delays in the renewal, some of them have already lost their work permits.

Photo: Global Look Press/Frank Hoermann/SVEN SIMON

In the autumn, the White House decided to reduce the quotas for accepting refugees from 125,000 to 7.5 thousand people in the upcoming fiscal year. This is the lowest figure in the history of the resettlement program. Trump said the administration would focus on attracting white South Africans, who he said were being harassed in South Africa.

Earlier, the US president resorted to more drastic measures, organizing deportation raids and operations in a number of states. "We must step up efforts to detain and deport illegal migrants in America's largest cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, where millions of illegal immigrants live," he said in June this year.

According to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), more than 2 million illegal migrants have left the country since January 2025. 1.6 million of them voluntarily decided to return to their country, and more than 527 thousand were deported, a researcher at the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies (CCEMI) told Izvestia HSE Inna Yanikeeva.

"In other words, Donald Trump keeps his promises regarding the fight against illegal migration in particular and migration to the United States in general," the expert noted.

Photo: Global Look Press/Charles Reed/ZUMAPRESS.com

Indeed, US policy leads to the fact that a significant part of migrants, including Ukrainians, decides to leave the country. Encouraging this approach, the White House has created a government application called CBP One. In May, the Trump administration promised a free flight from America and an "exit bonus" of $1,000 to those who use it.

"We see that much fewer new migrants are entering the United States, and the migration flow has fallen by 90% to its lowest levels in 60 years,— added Malek Dudakov.

How anti-immigration policy divides the United States

Not everyone in the country is satisfied with Trump's radical measures to combat illegal immigrants. According to a survey by YouGov and CBS, 52% of Americans support deportation, while 48% oppose it. Most of the Democrats were not happy about the refugee screening plans either. According to them, the administration is unreasonably exerting pressure on migrants who do not have the opportunity to return to their homeland, whereas in the United States they could contribute to the development of the country. For example, Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, formerly known as the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society, called the new screening program "unnecessary, cruel and wasteful."

The reduction in the number of illegal immigrants in the United States is beginning to affect the country's economy. Immigrants make up a significant proportion of workers in many low-paid manual labor sectors. With this in mind, reducing their number can lead to higher costs and supply shortages, Inna Yanikeeva believes.

Photo: Global Look Press/Paul Gordon/ZUMAPRESS.com

— Illegal migrants are not eligible for most social benefits, but they pay a number of taxes. Most of them have income tax and payroll tax deducted from their salaries. When buying a house or any goods and services, they pay state and local property taxes or sales taxes, just like everyone else. If they are deported en masse, budget revenues will certainly decrease," the expert explained.

The shortage of workers due to the outflow of migrants is particularly severe in California, where the proportion of illegal immigrants was about 27% of the total number of residents of the state. Agriculture suffered the most damage. About 65% of migrants worked on farms in the state, and a quarter of them had no legal status. Due to the acute shortage of labor, serious problems are expected during harvesting. This is despite the fact that the California farming industry previously produces a third of vegetables and 75% of all fruits in the United States.

In the construction and restaurant business, where migrants accounted for more than 50% of the total number of workers, losses could reach about $300 billion. The resulting shortage of personnel at the enterprises led to the fact that the business lobby began to show serious discontent. In June, amid mass protests in California, some businesses demanded that Trump suspend deportation raids.

On the other hand, the shortage of migrants will have a positive impact on ordinary Americans, because it will be easier for them to compete for jobs, and wages will rise, Malek Dudakov is sure. One way or another, the topic of migration reflects the split in American society. This is the specifics of the country, in which the views of "Democrats" and "Republicans" usually differed diametrically when it came to internal affairs, Inna Yanikeeva summarized.

Photo: Global Look Press/Charles Reed/ZUMAPRESS.com

Earlier, Trump's anti-immigration policy led to mass protests in a number of states. In June, because of the arrests of illegal immigrants, rallies began in Los Angeles, from where they spread to San Francisco. In response to the riots, Trump sent 2,000 National Guard officers to California, and for the first time in several decades, such a decision was made without prior request from the state authorities and without their consent.

The clashes between the federal center and the democratic states continued in the fall. In particular, on October 6, Illinois and the city of Chicago sued the Trump administration after its decision to send 300 National Guard soldiers to the state to fight illegal migrants. The White House made this decision "against the background of ongoing violent riots and lawlessness, which the local authorities refuse to stop."