Evangelical group condemns Trump policy change impacting immigrants who entered lawfully
An Evangelical humanitarian organization has condemned a Trump administration policy memo that could require many immigrants who entered the United States lawfully to leave the country while seeking lawful permanent residence.
World Relief, a Christian humanitarian organization that is authorized to resettle refugees in the U.S., said the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ policy would affect people who entered lawfully with visas, humanitarian parole or tourist status and later became eligible for a green card, often through a U.S. citizen spouse, parent or adult child.
Under the rules, many would now have to return to their countries of origin for a process that could take months or years. USCIS issued the memo on Thursday, largely halting a long-standing practice that allowed eligible noncitizens to apply for lawful permanent residence from inside the country.
The agency guidance states that where consular processing is available, officers considering adjustment of status should treat it as extraordinary discretionary relief from the regular immigrant visa process and an act of administrative grace.
The memo says officers must weigh relevant evidence and determine whether an applicant is suitable for permanent residence and whether approval is in the best interest of the U.S. Officers should consider family ties, immigration history, moral character and other relevant factors, according to the memo.
Applicants who are denied must receive written reasons, the memo adds. If a denial rests on discretion, the notice must include the positive and negative factors considered and explain why the negative factors outweigh the positive ones.
Myal Greene, president and chief executive of World Relief, said the change would have “devastating consequences on families” and would separate husbands from wives and children from parents. The policy affects people who meet legal requirements for a green card and should be reversed by the administration, Congress or the courts, he contends.
Adjustment of status has allowed some people already in the U.S. to seek lawful permanent residence without leaving for consular processing abroad. World Relief said about 73% of approved adjustments of status in the last quarter of fiscal 2025 were based on family sponsorship.
The group said the new guidance could require many families to separate during immigration processing because U.S. citizen relatives may be unable to leave the U.S. because of jobs or caregiving duties.
World Relief also said the policy could be compounded by a January State Department ban on consular processing of immigrant visas for 75 countries. The group said families from those countries could face indefinite separation if they are told to seek immigrant visas abroad while such visas are unavailable in their home countries.
Matthew Soerens, World Relief’s vice president of advocacy and policy, said the memo was part of a series of immigration policies that would separate families and reduce legal immigration.
Earlier this month, World Relief and the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) released a report titled “Joined Together, Torn Apart,” which estimated the potential family impact of Trump administration immigration policies on mixed-status families, as reported by The Christian Post.
More than 1 million U.S. citizens could be separated from spouses or children under those policies, according to CP. The report estimated that 910,000 U.S. citizen children could be separated from one or both parents by the end of Trump’s term, including 665,000 who could be separated from both parents.
The report also estimated that 272,000 U.S. citizens could be separated from spouses because of detention and deportation policies, while 150,000 spouses and children abroad in countries affected by immigrant visa travel bans could remain separated.
The organizations based their estimate on President Trump’s campaign pledge to deport 1 million immigrants per year, amounting to 4 million deportations by early 2029. The study randomly selected undocumented immigrants for removal without regard to length of residence, occupation, country of birth or place of residence in the U.S.
The population studied excluded people with asylum claims and immigrants brought to the U.S. as children who are protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Researchers estimated that 519,000 U.S. citizen children had no U.S. citizen family members living with them.
World Relief urged the administration to reconsider what it called a "needless change" and urged lawmakers to clarify the law so families seeking to comply with immigration rules can do so without separation. The group advised immigrants who may be affected to consult an experienced immigration attorney or an organization recognized by the Department of Justice to provide immigration legal guidance.
