Legal Framework

1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees

Removed the temporal and geographic limitations of the 1951 Convention, which originally applied only to persons displaced by events occurring before 1951 in Europe. The Protocol extends refugee protections universally.

Related incidents

3 incidents

CBP One App Shutdown: 30,000 Asylum Appointments Cancelled, 270,000 Stranded

The immediate shutdown of the CBP One asylum scheduling app on Inauguration Day cancelled 30,000 appointments and stranded 270,000 asylum seekers, eliminating the primary legal pathway to request …

  • On January 20, 2025, at noon EST, CBP removed the scheduling functionality from the CBP One app, instantly cancelling approximately 30,000 …
  • An estimated 270,000 migrants continued logging into the app seeking appointments after the shutdown, indicating the scale of people relying …

Indefinite Suspension of US Refugee Admissions Program and Record-Low Resettlement Cap

The administration indefinitely suspended refugee resettlement and set the lowest admissions cap in US history at 7,500, prioritizing white Afrikaners, while stranding refugees mid-transit including …

  • Executive order on January 20, 2025 indefinitely suspended the US Refugee Admissions Program effective January 27.
  • The FY 2026 refugee cap was set at 7,500 -- the lowest in US history, down from 125,000 under Biden -- with priority given to white South …

Suspension of Asylum at the Southern Border

The administration imposed an unprecedented total ban on asylum claims at the southern border, shutting down the CBP One app and eliminating all avenues for protection. A federal judge ruled the …

  • Executive order signed January 20, 2025 suspended all asylum processing at the southern border and shut down the CBP One scheduling app.
  • The order declared an 'invasion' at the southern border and invoked emergency powers to bypass statutory asylum protections.