The Trump administration on Tuesday halted immigration applications filed by citizens of 19 countries who were already facing restrictions on traveling to the United States, according to a memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
“USCIS has considered that this direction may result in a delay in the adjudication of some pending applications and has balanced that consequence with the urgent need for the agency to ensure that applicants are vetted and vetted to the fullest extent possible,” the agency said in a four-page policy memo.
“Ultimately, USCIS has determined that the burden of processing delays that will fall on some applicants is necessary and appropriate in this case, when weighed against the agency’s obligation to protect and preserve national security,” he added.
The New York Times first reported on the immigration pause, which applies to both green card and citizenship applicants.
A USCIS office spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new policy Tuesday evening.
The move comes less than a week after two National Guard members were shot while on patrol in Washington, D.C., leaving one dead and the other seriously injured. The suspect, who pleaded not guilty to murder on Tuesday, is an Afghan national who entered the United States legally during the Biden administration and was granted asylum after President Donald Trump took office for the second time.
According to USCIS, more than 1.4 million people have pending asylum applications that could be affected by the new pause.
The application suspension concerns people from 19 countries that the Trump administration designated as high risk and who are trying to have the agency process their immigration statuses. The list is mainly aimed at African and Asian countries.
Trump signed a proclamation in June that completely bans entry into the United States for citizens of 12 countries (including Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen) and partially restricts entry for citizens of seven others: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said in an interview with Newsmax on Monday that following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, he does not believe Afghan citizens who arrived in the United States “were adequately vetted.”
His office said Monday on
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday on
