US State Department tells partners refugee resettlement has been frozen

WASHINGTON

The State Department has halted all processing of refugee admission cases, and has frozen all arrivals of refugees into the US, a non-government organization that works to resettle Afghan refugees said Wednesday.

AfghanEvac posted a copy of an email it said the agency sent to partner agencies in the wake of President Donald Trump's executive order on Monday that froze the Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).

"Following the issuance of the Executive Order (EO), 'Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program,' refugee arrivals to the United States have been suspended until further notice. All previously scheduled travel of refugees to the United States is being cancelled, and no new travel bookings will be made," the email said.

"Additionally, all refugee case processing and pre-departure activities are also suspended. RSCs and IOM should not move refugees to transit centers in anticipation of travel and should halt all pre- departure activities for refugee cases. No new referrals should be made into the USRAP," it added.

It was referring to the Resettlement Support Center, a center that processes refugees, and the International Organization for Migration, the UN's migration office.

Trump's order alleged that the US "has been inundated with record levels of migration, including through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program," saying the country "lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans."

Trump mandated that the refugee program be frozen "until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States."