US Pauses All Immigration Applications From 19 Non-European Countries
The Trump administration on Tuesday said it was pausing all immigration applications, including green cards and U.S. citizenship applications, by immigrants from 19 countries outside Europe, citing national security and public safety concerns.
The pause applies to people from 19 countries that were already subject to a partial travel ban in June and further restrictions on immigration, a key feature of US President Donald Trump’s political platform.
The list of countries includes Afghanistan and Somalia.
The official statement outlining the new policy mentions last week’s attack on US National Guard members in Washington, for which an Afghan man was detained as a suspect. One National Guard member was killed and another was seriously injured in the clash.
Trump has also increased his rhetoric towards Somalis in recent days, calling them “garbage” and saying “we don’t want them in our country.”
Since returning to office in January, Trump has aggressively prioritized immigration enforcement by sending federal agents to major U.S. cities and turning away asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. His administration has frequently emphasized the deportation effort, but so far has placed less emphasis on efforts to reshape legal immigration.
The flurry of promised restrictions since the attack on National Guard members suggests a greater focus on legal immigration as part of protecting national security and impeaching former President Joe Biden for his policies.
Countries targeted in Wednesday’s memorandum include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, which were subject to the harshest immigration restrictions in June, including complete suspensions of entry, with few exceptions.
The list of 19 countries subject to partial restrictions in June includes Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
The new policy suspends pending applications and requires all immigrants on the list of countries to “undergo a comprehensive re-examination process, including a possible interview and, if necessary, re-interview to fully evaluate all national security and public safety threats.”
The memorandum cited several recent crimes suspected to have been committed by immigrants, including a National Guard attack.
Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the organization has received reports of canceled swearing-in ceremonies, naturalization interviews and arranging status interviews for individuals from countries listed in the travel ban.
