By: Stephanie Kalota
Founder, Veteran Legislative Voice & AHG Correspondent
On President Trump’s inauguration day, he signed an Executive Order called “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program.” This executive order suspends the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), starting January 27, 2025. It stipulates that “within 90 days of that order, the Secretary of Homeland Security (in consultation with the Secretary of State) shall submit a report to the President through the Homeland Security Advisor regarding whether resumption of entry of refugees into the United States under the USRAP would be in the interests of the United States.” It also stipulates that this report is submitted every 90 days until President Trump determines that the USRAP is no longer suspended. This caught the attention of the military and veterans because this resulted in the cancelation of approximately 10,000 refugees’ travel plans: including about a thousand Afghan refugees.
Since the release of this Executive Order, there has been a mix of claims about USRAP. This program is operated by the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (BPRM), under the State Department, and was created according to the 1980 Refugee Act. I wish I could give you more facts about this program from the State Department, but all sites related to it are currently down. Coincidence? We shall see in the future.
