ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Donald Trump administration has directed an immediate suspension of immigration applications from nationals of 19 countries already under United States travel bans or restrictions, according to a memo released Tuesday by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, NBC reported.
The four-page memo explains that the pause, which affects both green card and citizenship applications, is aimed at enabling enhanced security screenings.
“USCIS has considered that this direction may result in a delay to the adjudication of some pending applications.
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“Ultimately, USCIS has determined that the burden of processing delays that will fall on some applicants is necessary and appropriate in this instance, when weighed against the agency’s obligation to protect and preserve national security,” the agency stated.
The New York Times first reported the immigration pause, which applies to both green card and citizenship applicants.
The decision impacts applicants from countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen nations already subject to full or partial entry bans signed by President Trump in June.
Additional restrictions cover nationals from seven other countries, including Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, and Venezuela.
The move follows a recent attack in Washington, DC, where two National Guard members were shot while on patrol, leaving one soldier dead and another critically injured.
The suspect, an Afghan national who entered the US legally during the Biden administration, pleaded not guilty to murder charges Tuesday and was later granted asylum after Trump returned to office.
USCIS officials have cautioned that more than 1.4 million pending asylum cases could be affected by the pause.
According to NBC, a spokesperson for the agency did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday night.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow, in an interview with Newsmax on Monday, questioned the vetting of Afghan nationals who arrived after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. “I do not believe they were properly vetted,” he said.
The agency reiterated this position on social media, stating, “Nothing is off the table until every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem offered even stronger criticism, revealing that she had urged the president to broaden restrictions.
“I recommended a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies,” she wrote Monday on X.