in effect
This is Executive Order 14163, signed January 20, 2025, titled “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program.” It is a presidential order that suspends the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), the government system for admitting refugees, and directs officials to study whether and when to restart it. The President issues it under the Immigration and Nationality Act and related legal authorities.
Refugee entry under USRAP is suspended starting at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on January 27, 2025, and the Department of Homeland Security must also pause decisions on pending refugee applications. During the suspension, the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security may still jointly admit individual refugees case-by-case if they decide it is in the national interest and poses no security or welfare threat. Within 90 days, DHS (with the State Department) must report to the President on whether resuming refugee admissions serves U.S. interests, with follow-up reports every 90 days until the President decides to restart the program. The order also directs DHS to study giving state and local governments a larger role in deciding where refugees are placed, and it revokes a prior 2021 order (Executive Order 14013) on refugee resettlement.
Refugees seeking to enter the U.S. and people with pending refugee applications are directly affected, as their admission and application decisions are put on hold except for discretionary case-by-case approvals. Federal agencies—DHS, the State Department, Health and Human Services, and the Attorney General—carry out the suspension, reporting, and consultation duties, while state and local governments are named as parties that may gain more input into where refugees are settled.