Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program

The order suspends the USRAP, directing that no refugees may enter the United States under the program and that the Secretary of Homeland Security must halt decisions on pending refugee status applications. The suspension took effect at 12:01 a.m. EST on January 27, 2025. The Secretaries of State and Homeland Security may jointly admit individual refugees on a case-by-case basis, but only upon a finding that admission is in the national interest and poses no security or welfare threat. The order also directs DHS, in consultation with the Attorney General, to examine how state and local governments can have greater say in refugee placement decisions and to develop a lawful proposal promoting that involvement. It revokes Executive Order 14013 (February 4, 2021), which had directed agencies to rebuild refugee resettlement programs.

The suspension remains in place until the President determines resumption is in the national interest. The order includes a severability clause, meaning courts may invalidate individual provisions without affecting the rest, and it expressly states it creates no enforceable legal rights for any individual or party against the government.

Refugees worldwide whose USRAP applications are pending or who planned to seek admission to the United States, resettlement organizations and contractors that operate under USRAP, state and local governments that receive and house refugees, and the Departments of Homeland Security, State, Health and Human Services, and Justice.

Refugees mid-process — including those already approved or in transit — face an immediate halt to admission. Resettlement agencies that depend on USRAP funding and referrals are directly affected. State and local governments gain a prospective seat at the table on future placement decisions, a role not previously codified at the executive level.

The suspension is self-executing from the moment specified in the order; no further agency rulemaking is needed to stop entries or application processing. Case-by-case exceptions require joint agreement of two Cabinet secretaries, creating a high bar for individual admissions. The review mechanism — 90-day reports from DHS to the President — sets a recurring check-in, but resumption requires an affirmative presidential determination, not a default restart. DHS's separate assignment to build a state/local involvement proposal runs on a parallel, undated track with no automatic enforcement trigger if missed.