A refugee program that was slated to allow up to 125,000 people into the United States was suspended by President Donald Trump on Monday. 

About 24 hours later, multiple organizations told NY1 they were considering legal action to prevent that from happening.

The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program is a federal initiative that allows people who have fled their country of origin to resettle in the United States. The applicants, who typically face persecution and remain in danger despite leaving their home country, go through a lengthy process to get admitted for refugee status.

The entire process happens before they come to the United States and includes interviews, background checks and a medical exam.

And there are strict standards that need to be met, said Mark Hetfield, the president of Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, a global nonprofit that helps refugees relocate to the U.S.

"They have to have already fled and they're in a dangerous limbo situation. If you have been offered firm resettlement, if you have been offered a permanent place to live, you are not eligible for the U.S. refugee program," he said.

In addition to that, they also need to prove persecution and must also meet other criteria to even simply apply, he added.

President Trump said in his executive order that the program needed to be re-evaluated and would be suspended for 90 days, starting Jan. 27.

"Over the last four years, the United States has been inundated with record levels of migration, including through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP)," read part of the order that he signed.

He cited cities such as New York seeking "Federal aid to manage the burden of new arrivals."

New York City has seen more than 200,000 migrants arrive since the spring of 2022, according to City Hall. However, only 3,851 came through the USRAP program in fiscal year 2023, according to federal data.

And Hetfield said there is a difference between people who are coming through the southern border and those coming through USRAP.

“Asylum seekers are exercising a human right to seek asylum at the border, but they are essentially here uninvited," he said. "Every refugee who’s resettled here was invited.”

However, with the suspension of USRAP, there are thousands of people who have already had their arrivals scheduled for February whose situations are now in limbo.

Hetfield said there were hundreds of people his organization alone was helping place in the U.S. next month.

"In many cases they have sold their belongings or are in the course of selling their belongings and now we have to figure out what to tell them because they're not going to be able to come anymore," he said.

He said the stakes are extremely high for these refugee applicants.

"Well, there’s no question that some people will die,” he said.

In a small office on the Upper West Side, David Coleman went through some resumes. He's the program director at the nonprofit, the Refugee Employment Partnership, which has been helping mainly refugees with work authorization get connected with mentors in the city the past seven years.

“They’re all good people who want to work and escaped really, really dangerous situations at home," he said.

He said he thinks about the people, no different than the hundreds they have helped, who cannot come here now.

“It’s a sad thing. This country has always welcomed refugees,” he said.

He said at the same time, that doesn’t mean everyone can be helped.

There is a cap for how many cases can be granted through the USRAP every year.

This year, President Joe Biden set it at 125,000. That is significantly higher than the levels set by President Trump during his first administration, according to federal data. His caps were below 50,000 some years.

But despite the executive order going into effect in a matter of days, some are considering fighting for it.

Hetfield said HIAS is weighing whether to pursue legal action.

“There can be a challenge as to the manner, the rationale for suspending processing and then there are separate types of challenges to individuals who argue they have a right to resettle the United States as refugees,” said Hannah Flamm, the deputy director of policy at the International Refugee Assistance Project, a nonprofit which supports refugees and displaced people.

She said IRAP is also discussing a potential lawsuit and that a challenge could lead to the program remaining in place if it's in the courts.

In 2023, the latest data on USRAP showed that more than 70 countries had refugees resettled in the United States. More than 60,000 people were placed across 47 states, along with Washington, D.C.

The Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria and Afghanistan had the most refugees admitted. The 35,520 of them made up nearly 60% of the refugees accepted that year.