The pause affects green cards and citizenship applications, noting ongoing security risks in the aftermath of last week’s National Guard attack in Washington.
The Trump administration announced Tuesday it has suspended the processing of all immigration applications from 19 countries, including Afghanistan and Somalia, citing national security and public safety concerns.
The action comes a week after an Afghan national was arrested for shooting two National Guard soldiers near the White House, killing one and critically wounding the other.
The action includes processing for green cards and U.S. citizenship, according to a memorandum. Nations affected include Myanmar (Burma), Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
The memorandum places a hold on all Forms I-589 (Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal), regardless of the applicant’s country of nationality. It also places hold on pending benefit requests for individuals from the impacted countries, and conducts a comprehensive review of approved benefit requests for aliens from impacted countries who entered the country on or after Jan. 20, 2021.
“This memorandum mandates that all aliens meeting these criteria 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 along with any other related grounds of inadmissibility or ineligibility,” the memo announcing the changes reads.
The policy also follows a partial travel ban implemented in June on a similar list of nations.
The new memo cited the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington last week, where the male Afghan suspect has pleaded not guilty, as an example of public safety and national security concerns.
“Recently, the United States has seen what a lack of screening, vetting, and prioritizing expedient adjudications can do to the American people,” states the memo. “USCIS [United States Citizenship and Immigration Services] plays an instrumental role in preventing terrorists from seeking safe haven in the United States and ensuring that USCIS’ screening and vetting and adjudications prioritize the safety of the American people and uphold all U.S. laws.”
The new directive stops ongoing applications and requires immigrants from the targeted countries to be completely re-evaluated.
