Posted on 12/02/25
| News Source: Arutz-7
The Trump administration announced Tuesday it has paused all immigration applications, including green cards and US citizenship processing, for immigrants from 19 non-European countries, citing national security and public safety concerns, Reuters reported.
The pause applies to countries already subjected to partial travel bans in June, further tightening restrictions on immigration, a central feature of President Donald Trump’s political platform. The list includes Afghanistan and Somalia.
An official memorandum cited last week’s attack on US National Guard members in Washington, in which an Afghan man was arrested as a suspect. One Guard member was killed and another critically wounded.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has prioritized immigration enforcement, deploying federal agents to major cities and turning away asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border. His administration has highlighted deportations but is now placing greater emphasis on reshaping legal immigration.
The memorandum lists Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen among the countries facing the most severe restrictions, including full suspension of entries with limited exceptions. Others include Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Pending applications from these countries will undergo a “thorough re-review process,” including potential interviews or re-interviews to assess national security and public safety threats.