Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and Virginia congressman Bob Goodlatte demanded answers about the plan to resettle Australian immigration detainees held on Manus Island and Nauru this week, telling Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson that many being considered for resettlement came "from countries of national security concern" and countries designated by the US State Department as state sponsors of terrorism.

The chairs of the powerful House and Senate Judiciary Committees wrote to the Obama Administration before the Thanksgiving holiday, coming as US Homeland Security officials continue work in Australia to process the about 1800 detainees involved in the one-off deal before they can be moved to the United States.

Mr Trump's Republican Party will control Congress and the White House after January 20, raising the prospect of the Australia-US deal being overturned through a presidential executive order before any transfers take place.

Senator Grassley and Mr Goodlatte turned down classified briefings about the plan, using a strongly worded letter to call for all members of Congress to be briefed on who would be resettled and which countries of origin were involved.

"[We] firmly believe the American people should be fully aware of the specific details of this agreement and why it was done in secret," the pair wrote.

"We ask that you immediately make the agreement available to members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and we ask for your cooperation to better understanding every aspect of this resettlement agreement."

"Your departments negotiated an international agreement regarding refugees without consulting or notifying Congress. Such information was not disclosed to Congress during the annual refugee consultation... even though your staff confirmed that the agreement had, at the time, been negotiated 'for months'."

The letter said the number of refugees to be resettled in the US had been deemed classified by the Obama administration, leaving the American people "in the dark as to the rationale for this agreement".

"It begs the question why Australia and other countries refuse to admit these individuals, what other countries are doing to help alleviate the situation, what kind of precedent this sets for future refugees interdicted at sea by Australian forces and prevented from entering Australia, and how a similar situation will be prevented in the future."

The Turnbull government has yet to hold detailed discussions with Mr Trump about the refugee plan, with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop consistently saying Australia works with one US administration at a time.

Mr Turnbull met Mr Obama at last week's Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Lima, Peru, with the Prime Minister thanking the US president for co-operation on a range of issues, including "resettlement issues in our own region".

Mr Trump's stunning victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton didn't stop the announcement of the deal, which would see refugees included within the US's annual humanitarian intake.

The billionaire businessman ran on a plan to stop all Muslim immigration to the US.

One candidate to become Mr Trump's Homeland Security chief this week proposed reducing the intake of Syrian refugees to the US to zero, as well as "extreme vetting" for high-risk foreigners, includings questions about support for Sharia law, jihad and equality between men and women.