Dozens of countries are now on a new US immigration pause list, including some of the world's most poor and least stable, reports the New York Times. The Trump administration has suspended immigration applications from 19 nations previously placed under travel restrictions, effectively stopping green card and citizenship processing for tens of thousands of people. The affected countries span from Iran and Afghanistan to Eritrea, Haiti, Somalia, and Venezuela. African and Asian countries make up much of the list, NBC News reports. Separately, the Trump administration is considering expanding the number of countries on the restricted travel list to around 30, sources previously told CBS News.
The move, confirmed by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, follows the recent shooting of two National Guard members, one fatally, in Washington, DC, allegedly by an Afghan asylum recipient—a development that appears to have accelerated the administration's crackdown on immigration. Officials say the goal is to increase vetting and ensure that only the "best of the best" are granted US citizenship, emphasizing that "citizenship is a privilege, not a right."
Immigration lawyers across the country reported abrupt cancellations of naturalization ceremonies and green card interviews, often without explanation. The pause is expected to worsen existing backlogs in an already strained immigration system. "Everything is being put on hold," said Texas immigration attorney Ana Maria Schwartz. "It is just like a traffic jam, and it is just going to get worse and worse and worse."
The administration has also announced reviews of green cards already issued to people from the travel ban countries, as well as pauses on asylum decisions and a reassessment of asylum grants made during the Biden administration. The new rules could impact more than 1.5 million people with pending asylum applications and over 50,000 who received asylum during the previous administration. It remains unclear how many people from the affected countries are currently waiting for immigration benefits. (Following the DC shooting, Kristi Noem called for a total travel ban on certain nations.)
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