The Trump administration formally halted immigration applications from 19 countries deemed to be a high risk for producing terrorists and other national security threats — hours after a source told The Post that list could grow to 30 nations or more.
In a four-page memo issued late Tuesday, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) directed a hold on green card and citizenship applications from those nations, as well as requests for benefits, “pending a comprehensive review.”
The 19 countries affected by the order were previously singled out by President Trump for travel restrictions in a June 4 proclamation and include Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, the Republic of the Congo, Equitorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen.
USCIS also announced a hold on “all pending asylum applications, regardless of the alien’s country of nationality.”
“USCIS has determined that a comprehensive re-review, potential interview, and re-interview of all aliens from high-risk countries of concern who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021 is necessary,” read the memo, later adding: “USCIS has considered that this direction may result in delay to the adjudication of some pending applications and has weighed that consequence against the urgent need for the agency to ensure that applicants are vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.
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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 memo cited last week’s broad-daylight shooting of two West Virginia National Guard troops in Washington, DC, by an Afghan national, a former member of a CIA-backed military unit that fought the Taliban.
The suspect, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the US legally in 2021 under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program, which evacuated and resettled refugees after the botched US withdrawal from Afghanistan that August.
Lakanwal had been granted asylum in April, which made him eligible for a green card after 12 months.
The State Department also paused visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports in response to the Thanksgiving eve attack, which killed Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and critically injured Andrew Wolfe, 24, not far from the White House.
“Recently, the United States has seen what a lack of screening, vetting, and prioritizing expedient adjudications can do to the American people,” the USCIS memo read.
“USCIS remains committed to ensuring that all aliens from high-risk countries of concern that entered the United States do not present threats to national security or public safety.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had announced on X that she had proposed expanding the number of countries on the restricted list during a meeting with Trump.
“Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom — not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS,” Noem wrote. “WE DON’T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.”
At a Tuesday cabinet meeting, Trump lashed out at immigrants from Somalia in response to an ongoing benefit fraud case out of Minnesota involving dozens of members of the East African diaspora.
“Somalians ripped off [Minnesota] for billions of dollars,” the president said, adding: “They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country.”
Trump issued the initial June proclamation following an antisemitic firebomb attack in Colorado, which was allegedly carried out by an Egyptian national in the US on an expired tourist visa.
That order fully restricted travel to the US from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
Partial restrictions were imposed on entering the US by citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
New York Post
