The Trump administration said it paused all immigration applications, including green card and United States citizenship processing, filed by immigrants from 19 non-European countries, citing concerns over national security and public safety on Tuesday.
The pause applies to people from 19 countries that were already subjected to a partial travel ban in June, placing further restrictions on immigration.
The list of countries includes Afghanistan and Somalia.
The official memorandum outlining the new policy cites the attack on US National Guard members in Washington last week, in which an Afghan man was arrested as a suspect. One member of the National Guard was killed, and another was critically wounded in the shooting.
Trump has also stepped up his rhetoric against Somalis in recent days, calling them “garbage” and saying “we don’t want them in our country.”
Federal agents push protesters out of the main drive way for the Broadview ICE detention facility, after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered increased federal law enforcement presence to assist in crime prevention, in Broadview, Illinois, U.S. September 19, 2025 (credit: REUTERS)
Federal agents push protesters out of the main drive way for the Broadview ICE detention facility, after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered increased federal law enforcement presence to assist in crime prevention, in Broadview, Illinois, U.S. September 19, 2025 (credit: REUTERS)
Trump’s ongoing immigration crackdown
Since returning to office in January, Trump prioritized immigration enforcement, sending federal agents to major US cities and turning away asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border. His administration has frequently highlighted the deportation push, but until now, has put less emphasis on efforts to reshape legal immigration.
The flurry of promised restrictions since the attack on National Guard members suggests an increased focus on legal immigration framed around protecting national security and casting blame on former President Joe Biden for his policies.
The list of countries targeted in Wednesday’s memorandum includes Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, which were subjected to the most severe immigration restrictions in June, including a full suspension on entries with a few exceptions.
Others on the list of 19 countries, which were subjected to partial restrictions in June, are Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
The new policy places a hold on pending applications and mandates that all immigrants from the list of 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 cited several recent crimes suspected to have been committed by immigrants, including the National Guard attack.
Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the organization had received reports of canceled oath ceremonies, naturalization interviews, and adjustment of status interviews for individuals from countries listed on the travel ban.
(Jaruselem Post)
