The Long Road to Safety: An Interactive Simulation of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Process

The Refugee Act of 1980 created a more just, efficient, secure, and strategic U.S. refugee admissions and resettlement process. It passed with bipartisan support and put into place a system that has since saved the lives of more than 3 million people from around the world.  

It included a rigorous, complex, and comprehensive vetting process for refugees referred to the U.S. for resettlement, which typically took applicants many years to complete.  

In 2025, during his first week in office, President Trump suspended the U.S Refugee Admissions Program by executive order, stranding tens of thousands of displaced people, including many who had already completed vetting and many who were still in the process. Around the world, flights were cancelled, families learned they wouldn’t be reunited, and individuals had to return to refugee camps and other temporary, subpar living situations, with no clear idea of when they would once again be considered for resettlement in the U.S. A common—and unsubstantiated—justification for the suspension was that applicants were being insufficiently vetted. In reality, refugees are the most highly vetted group to immigrate to the U.S.  

This simulation attempts to describe the many rigorous steps, along with the frequent twists, turns, and delays, that individuals faced as part of the U.S. refugee admissions process before the program was suspended. We hope that one effect will be to capture the incredible drive, resilience, and hope refugees show in completing this process while they are still processing trauma and dreaming of a brighter, safer future for themselves and their families.