Trump Blocks Immigration of Foreigners From 19 Countries

The Trump administration is pushing pause on immigration applications from 19 countries and reviewing approved applications from those same nations. Multiple reports indicate the list of nations could be expanded.  

For now, the immigration application pause applies to foreigners from: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen.  

The 19 counties were already considered “high-risk,” and in June, President Donald Trump announced full or partial restrictions on entry of individuals from these nations into the U.S. 

Additionally, the U.S. government will conduct a re-review of any foreigner from one of the 19 countries who entered the U.S. since the start of the Biden administration and was granted asylum or withholding of removal.  

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services “has determined the operational necessity to ensure that all asylum applicants and aliens from high-risk countries of concern who entered the United States do not pose a threat to national security or public safety,” USCIS wrote in a Tuesday memo.  

The re-evaluation of approved immigration applications is expected to slow the process for those waiting for approval, but “USCIS has determined the operational necessity to ensure that all asylum applicants and aliens from high-risk countries of concern who entered the United States do not pose a threat to national security or public safety,” according to the agency.  

The action is being taken following a shooting in the District of Columbia last week that left one National Guard member dead and another seriously injured. The suspected shooter is an Afghan national who worked with U.S. troops in Afghanistan but came to the U.S. after the fall of Kabul in 2021. The alleged shooter yelled “Allahu akbar,” translated “God is most great,” during the attack, according to documents filed in court on Tuesday and reported by The Washington Post.  

The Trump administration has also paused the progressing of all visas for Afghan nationals.