United States: The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it has suspended all immigration filings including applications for green cards and US citizenship from immigrants originating from 19 non-European nations, citing national security and public safety concerns.
This suspension covers individuals from 19 countries that were already facing a partial travel ban imposed in June, further tightening immigration rules, a central element of President Donald Trump’s political agenda.
Among the affected countries are Afghanistan and Somalia.
The official memorandum detailing the new measure references last week’s attack on US National Guard personnel in Washington, for which an Afghan man was arrested. One National Guard member died, while another was left in critical condition.
In recent days, Trump has intensified his remarks toward Somalis, referring to them as “garbage” and stating “we don’t want them in our country.”
Since returning to office in January, Trump has made immigration enforcement a top priority, dispatching federal agents to major US cities and denying entry to asylum seekers along the US-Mexico border. His administration has repeatedly emphasized deportation efforts, although up until now it had put comparatively less focus on transforming the legal immigration system.
A surge of newly announced restrictions following the National Guard attack signals a heightened focus on legal immigration, framed as necessary for national security and tied to criticism of former President Joe Biden’s previous policies.
Countries listed in Wednesday’s memorandum including Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen had already faced the most stringent restrictions in June, including an almost complete halt on entries except for limited exemptions.
Additional countries, subject only to partial restrictions in June, include Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Under the new rules, pending immigration cases from these nations will be paused. The policy orders that applicants from the listed countries “undergo a thorough re-review process, including a potential interview and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess all national security and public safety threats.”
The memorandum also references several recent crimes attributed to immigrants, including the attack on the National Guard members.
Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the group has been notified of cancelled oath ceremonies, naturalisation interviews and adjustment-of-status interviews for applicants from the countries included in the travel ban.
