The Trump administration has imposed the broadest domestic freeze on immigration benefits in decades, ordering U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to halt all asylum adjudications and suspend a broad range of applications from nationals of 19 “high-risk” countries, while reopening thousands of previously approved cases for new security checks.
The directive, issued this week to USCIS field offices, follows a series of violent incidents involving Afghan nationals admitted under previous programs. Those cases led the White House to conclude that vetting procedures between 2021 and 2024 were “dangerously insufficient,” triggering a review of the entire immigration enforcement system.
The freeze is the domestic counterpart to Presidential Proclamation 10949, which in June banned the entry of citizens from 19 countries. Now the same nationalities face broad restrictions within the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has already recommended that the travel ban list be expanded to more than 30 countries.
“Our ancestors built this nation with blood, sweat, and the unwavering love of freedom, not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck up our hard-earned tax dollars, or take away the benefits Americans are owed. We don’t want them. None,” Noem said in a statement posted to her X account.
Secretary Noem issued the statement after a meeting Monday with President Donald Trump, who also signed a series of executive orders tightening immigration controls.
The USCIS memo directs officials to immediately suspend all asylum applications, regardless of nationality. This includes applicants from countries rarely associated with security concerns. Immigration lawyers say they are not aware of any previous cases in which asylum awards have been frozen across the board.
The order also suspends all applications for immigration benefits filed by nationals of the 19 restricted countries. These include green card petitions, replacement green cards, travel documents, parole extensions, and applications to preserve continuous residence for naturalization. Even routine services, such as replacing a lost green card, are now suspended.
But the most far-reaching element may be the retroactive review. USCIS officials have been directed to reopen and re-examine all approved immigration benefits granted to nationals of the listed countries who entered the U.S. on or after January 20, 2021. Mandatory interviews will be required in many cases, with no possibility of waiver, and cases may be referred to authorities if concerns arise during the review.
The memo mentions that the change began after two recent incidents: the guilty plea of Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, accused of planning an Islamic State-inspired attack on Election Day 2024, and the arrest of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, accused of killing a National Guard member in Washington. Both men entered the United States after 2021. The administration says these cases exposed “critical flaws” in identity verification and interagency investigation systems.
The memo cites President Trump’s Executive Order 14161, issued on his first day in office, which directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reassess security vulnerabilities across the immigration system. Under the new policy, even people who have already passed background checks, including some who obtained green cards or asylum protection, could now have to undergo additional interviews and updated screenings.
The agency acknowledges the delays this will cause, but says national security concerns outweigh processing timelines. USCIS has not offered any indication of when asylum adjudications or suspended benefit categories may resume.
In a previous post, Noem wrote: “If you are a legal professional, the Trump administration asks you to join the Department of Justice as a deportation judge and help restore the integrity and honor of the nation’s immigration court system.”
The call included an offer of an annual salary ranging from $159,951 to $207,500.
Immigration advocates predict legal challenges, noting that the memo effectively shuts down asylum processing nationwide and reverses years of completed cases. Administration officials respond that the measures are necessary to “protect the American people” at a time when, they say, security gaps remain too wide.
For now, hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers and applicants from restricted countries remain in limbo as the administration undertakes what officials describe as a “top-to-bottom” review of immigration background screening in the United States.
Separately, DHS said it launched a federal law enforcement operation titled ‘Operation Catahoula Crunch’ in New Orleans, Louisiana, targeting what it said were “criminal illegal aliens roaming free thanks to sanctuary policies that force local authorities to ignore U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention arrests.”
“Sanctuary policies endanger American communities by releasing criminal illegal aliens and forcing DHS authorities to risk their lives to remove criminal illegal aliens who should never have been returned to the streets,” Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, quoted in the statement.
“It is foolish that these monsters have been released back onto the streets of New Orleans to commit more crimes and create more victims. The Catahoula Crunch’s targets include violent criminals who were released after being arrested for home invasion, armed robbery, car theft, and rape. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are restoring law and order to the American people.”
The press release mentioned details of 10 people it said had been released back onto the streets of Louisiana, five from Honduras and one each from Vietnam, Jordan, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico.
He said two of the individuals had since been deported.
