The Voice News: The U.S. State Department is planning a sweeping reorganization to align with President Donald Trump’s aggressive anti-immigration agenda, including the creation of a new “Office of Remigration.”
The proposed office would replace the existing Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), a long-standing agency that has facilitated the resettlement of refugees and migrants into the United States. Under the restructuring, PRM would shift from supporting migration to focusing on deportation efforts, according to internal documents obtained by The Guardian.
A congressional notification from the State Department outlines the office’s new responsibilities, which include “repatriation tracking,” promoting the “voluntary return of migrants,” and collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security to “advance the president’s immigration agenda.”
“These offices will be substantially reorganized to support efforts to return illegal aliens to their country of origin or legal status,” the document states.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is leading the broader departmental restructuring, describes the overhaul as a move toward a “more agile department” capable of better promoting U.S. interests and ensuring national security.
The restructuring plan, submitted to Congress this week, includes eliminating or merging over 300 bureaus and offices within the State Department. More than 3,400 employees may face termination through a “reduction in force,” though consular affairs and key law enforcement roles are expected to remain unaffected.
In a parallel move, the administration has instructed U.S. embassies to halt student visa appointments amid expanded social media background checks. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court has greenlit Trump’s decision to revoke temporary protected status for over 500,000 immigrants from countries like Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
The remigration push is heavily influenced by Stephen Miller, a senior Trump adviser and hardline anti-immigration advocate. He has long criticized U.S. refugee programs and aims to dismantle policies that allow humanitarian entry.
“Remigration,” a term increasingly adopted by far-right movements globally, has become central to Trump’s immigration rhetoric. In a speech last September, President Donald Trump pledged to “end the migrant invasion of America” and “return Kamala’s illegal migrants to their home countries—also known as remigration.”
PRM, a frequent target of conservative criticism, has been accused of promoting migration through its resettlement programs and grant allocations. In a 2024 article for The American Conservative, Phillip Linderman, chair of the Ben Franklin Fellowship (BFF), called for a complete overhaul of the bureau.
“Even well-informed conservative strategists often don’t realize PRM’s role in facilitating illegal migration globally,” Linderman wrote. Members of the BFF have since taken prominent roles within the State Department under Rubio, signaling a deeper conservative reshaping of U.S. foreign and migration policy.
Rather than dismantling PRM entirely, the administration’s plan will reassign staff from its Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs and Office of International Migration to form the core of the new Office of Remigration.