Sections of Kenyans in the United States have been put on high alert after the Trump administration launched a sweeping review targeting over 200,000 refugees who entered the U.S. during Joe Biden's tenure.
According to an internal memo signed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joe Edlow, all refugees admitted between January 20, 2021 and February 20, 2025, will have to undergo fresh interviews and a new round of intense vetting to reassess whether they still qualify for refugee protection in the U.S.
In the memo, there are also orders for an immediate halt to the processing of permanent residence applications for refugees who arrived during Biden's era.
The new orders are set to impact thousands of Kenyan refugees who left Kenyan camps for greener pastures in the West.
A majority of Kenyans who moved between 2021 and 2024 hailed from Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps and now face uncertainty since they had started the long path towards attaining U.S. citizenship after resettlement.
Kenya, over the past several years, has been one of Africa's major refugee departure points for resettlement abroad, with UNHCR data revealing that in 2022 alone, Kenya submitted 3,692 refugees for resettlement, many of whom were eventually accepted by the U.S.
In 2023, the number of refugees who departed Kenya for greener pastures in the U.S. was well over 2,800, with a significant share of these individuals coming from Somalia, South Sudan, the DRC and Burundi but having been living in Kenyan camps.
Effectively, anyone from this group, including Kenyans, who arrived in the U.S. between 2021 and 2025, falls directly under Trump's new administration review order.
Part of the reason Trump's administration is keen on a review is that the current administration feels that Biden, during his time as President, may have prioritised high admission numbers over thorough interviews and vetting.
As a result, the USCIS says it has resorted to more comprehensive re-interviews for all case files from the affected period. In the USCIS memo, refugees have been warned that their status could be terminated if officers determine that an individual no longer meets the criteria for protection.
Re-interviews will pose a concern for refugees settled from Kenya, as it could potentially expose them to possible deportation if paperwork from their time in Kenya does not align with the Trump administration's criteria and standards.
