PANA v. Edlow: Challenging Trump-Vance administration policies stripping refugees of legal protections

Policies threatening the safety and stability of refugees in the United states have been a defining feature of the Trump-Vance administration’s xenophobic immigration agenda. Policies hostile to refugees include U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’s (“USCIS”) indefinite hold on all pending green card applications filed by refugees, as well as the re-vetting of those refugees under a November 2025 policy announced by USCIS. Most recently, the Department of Homeland Security and USCIS also published, without notice and comment, an interim final rule (IFR) cutting the time a refugee has to respond to a notice of intent to terminate refugee status from thirty to ten days.
IRAP is counsel in a lawsuit brought by six organizations and four individual refugees seeking to end the Trump-Vance Administration’s illegal policies, which would permit the government to strip refugees across the country of their immigration status and benefits.

Our clients

The individual Plaintiffs are four refugees from various countries who are affected by these policies. Plaintiffs and their families were lawfully admitted to the United States through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (“USRAP”) after comprehensive security vetting and are not removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”). Still, they fear the loss of their immigration status, have already lost essential benefits, and are unable to become legal permanent residents under USCIS’ new policies.

Our organizational plaintiffs include membership organizations Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (“PANA”), a nonprofit membership organization headquartered in California led by and serving refugees, and African Communities Together (“ACT”), a national nonprofit membership organization of African immigrants fighting for civil rights in the United States. Members of both organizations are subject to these policies.

The organizational plaintiffs also include International Institute of New England and Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts, whose core missions include serving resettled refugees in Massachusetts, and HIAS and Refugee Council USA (“RCUSA”), who serve refugee communities across the country. These organizations are increasingly under pressure as their client communities face re-vetting, loss of benefits, and potential termination of their status.

Impact

The Administration estimates that there are over 113,000 unadjusted refugees in the United States who are subject to re-vetting and over 186,000 unadjusted refugees subject to the IFR. Refugees who cannot adjust their status are being deprived of the benefits of lawful permanent residence, including a path to citizenship, eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”), and, since October 1, 2026, Medicaid coverage. The risk of having their refugee status terminated without a meaningful opportunity to respond places refugees at risk of being separated from their families and removal to countries where they face persecution.

Case status

• October 26, 2026: Case is filed in United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (“Court” or “District Court”). Plaintiffs also file an emergency request for a stay and a stay pending appeal.

Democracy Forward Foundation and A&O Shearman are co-counsel in this lawsuit.