The Trump administration paused all immigration applications from 19 non-European countries Tuesday, halting green cards, US citizenship processing and visas for applicants from those nations.
The order cites national security and public safety concerns, triggered by last week’s fatal shooting of a National Guard member by an Afghan national in Washington DC.
Affected countries
- Full suspension: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen
- Partial restrictions: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela
The pause covers all pending applications and requires “thorough re-review” – including potential interviews – for anyone from these countries.
Impact on applicants
The American Immigration Lawyers Association reports cancelled naturalization ceremonies, green card interviews and adjustment of status hearings for thousands. Over 1.5 million asylum cases and 50,000 grants from the Biden era could be affected.
USCIS director Joseph Edlow decides when to lift the freeze.
Trump’s rhetoric escalates
Trump has ramped up attacks on immigrants from these countries, calling Somalis “garbage” and vowing to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries”.
Since January, Trump has focused on deportations but now targets legal immigration, tying it to security threats like the DC attack.
The 19 nations were already under partial travel bans since June 2025.
Broader crackdown
This follows USCIS pausing all Afghan asylum decisions last week and the State Department halting visas for Afghans who aided the US.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recommended expanding the travel ban to more countries, with the list “soon” to be announced.
Deportations Surge, Legal Pathways Targeted
Since taking office in January 2025, President Donald Trump has aggressively ramped up immigration enforcement. Federal agents now patrol major US cities, rounding up undocumented migrants for swift deportation. At the US-Mexico border, asylum seekers face immediate turnbacks, with processing halted for all but the most urgent cases.
The administration has spotlighted these high-profile deportations – over 1.2 million removals in the first 10 months – as proof of Trump’s “America First” agenda. Yet until the latest moves, officials downplayed efforts to overhaul legal immigration, focusing instead on border chaos and criminal networks.
Now, with the 19-country pause on green cards and citizenship, Trump shifts gears. Critics call it a stealth rewrite of the system, favouring high-skilled workers from “preferred” nations while sidelining family reunifications and diversity visas. Supporters praise it as long-overdue security reform.
Source: The Guardian
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