Chin refugees in Malaysia who were due to be resettled to the U.S. after their refugee applications had been approved had their flights and visas cancelled by President Donald Trump.
After his inauguration on Jan. 20, President Trump signed an executive order suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) starting on Jan. 27. This means that Chin refugees who had been granted asylum in the U.S. and were due to depart Malaysia for the U.S., cannot travel there.
“Many who had high hopes were dealt a crushing blow. I can sympathize with how deeply hurt they must feel. A friend of mine was in the shower, preparing to visit a United Nations agency office for the final steps of his journey to the United States, when the news of the cancellation reached him. Some, believing their trip was secure, had already returned their rented homes to landlords and quit their jobs. In such a situation, this devastating turn of events leaves everyone heartbroken,” said James Bawi Thang Bik, the chairperson of the Alliance of Chin Refugees (ACR), a coalition of 17 ethnic groups working to improve the lives of Chin refugees in Malaysia
Many Chin refugees who had their flights to the U.S. cancelled contacted ACR when they received notification, while others contacted the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Malaysia. The number of Chin refugees who have had their flights cancelled is unknown.
Previously, Chin refugees in Malaysia applied for asylum in the U.S. through two main channels: the UNHCR refugee resettlement programme and the Welcome Corps programme. This enabled Chin refugees to join family members already in the U.S. However, under President Trump’s executive order, all applications for entry through both programs were revoked.
Now, the Welcome Corps has stopped accepting new asylum applications and the Resettlement Support Centre (RSC), an organization that assists migrants, has cancelled interview appointments for Chin people applying for asylum in the U.S.
“The RSC has cancelled interview appointments. So many people have been affected by the United States’ policy shift. Everyone is in shock and deeply depressed. The chances of any change we can hope for seem very slim. It’s clear that there is an overwhelming silence amongst the Chin community in Malaysia these days,” added James Bawi Thang Bik.
The U.S. accepts the largest number of Chin refugees. Other countries like France and Australia also offer Chin people asylum, though in relatively smaller numbers, according to ACR.
Currently there are about 80,000 Chin refugees in Malaysia. Of those, 20,000 hold a U.N. refugee card which is issued by the UNHCR and identifies the card holder as a refugee in need of protection from the host country.
Malaysian immigration has led raids and arrests of refugees and asylum seekers across the country. Those in possession of a U.N. refugee card are sometimes released, others have not been so lucky and have faced repatriated to their country of origin, according to several human rights organizations in Malaysia.
“Let’s consider what will happen next, the number of Chin refugees stranded in Malaysia will continue to rise. Many of them are not eligible to return home, nor can they leave for the United States as asylum seekers. They will be stuck, forced to have lives of struggle under the constant threat of being hunted down by authorities,” said James Bawi Thang Bik.
Some Chin refugees whose asylum applications were revoked first applied as far back as 2013, though others had applied more recently in 2019, 2020 and 2021. This includes orphaned children, people with underlying health conditions, and elderly people.
President Trump’s executive order suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) on Jan. 27 has impacted refugees from around the world, not only Chin from Myanmar. Malaysia also hosts around 200,000 Rohingya refugees and several thousand Kachin and Rakhine.
Under the new regulations it states that refugees may be admitted to the U.S. on a “case-by-case basis,” once the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security jointly determine that the entry of such aliens as refugees “does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the United States.”
Within 90 days of Jan. 20, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security will submit a report regarding whether or not it would be in the interest of the U.S. to resume allowing refugees to enter the country. These reports will continue every 90 days until the USRAP program is resumed, according to the National Law Review website.
