The Trump administration has halted the processing of all immigration applications, including green card requests, for people from 19 countries covered under this year’s expanded travel ban. The move was detailed in a new US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy memo posted Tuesday.The suspension, rolled out as part of sweeping immigration changes following the shooting of two National Guard troops, effectively freezes access to immigration benefits for applicants from the affected nations.
USCIS said the pause was prompted by the Thanksgiving week shooting near the White House, in which an Afghan national is accused of killing one National Guard soldier and wounding another. It cited the incident as justification for heightened scrutiny of applicants from the affected countries.“In light of identified concerns and the threat to the American people, 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,” the agency said, as cited by AP.The agency also said it would carry out a full review of all “approved benefit requests” for immigrants who arrived in the US during the Biden administration.
Who faces the ban?
The administration in June barred citizens of 12 countries from entering the US and imposed limited access on individuals from seven others, citing national security concerns.The travel ban applied to people from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The restricted-access list covered Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.At the time, officials made no changes affecting immigrants from those nations who were already living in the U.S. before the ban took effect.The latest directive from USCIS now signals that those individuals, regardless of when they arrived, will face additional scrutiny.The memo, highlighting the breadth of the new restrictions, states that, “this hold includes all form types and making any final decisions (approvals, denials) as well as completing any oath ceremonies.”Immigration lawyers told ABC News that several clients, including applicants from Venezuela, Iran and Afghanistan, have had their citizenship hearings cancelled this week.Naturalisation ceremonies, which mark the final step after as many as five years of processing, are usually celebratory events where new citizens take the oath of allegiance while waving small American flags.USCIS last week also paused all asylum decisions, while the State Department halted visa processing for Afghans who assisted the US war effort. The latest measures come as Trump increasingly casts migrants and refugees as the source of what he calls the country’s “social dysfunction,” as cited by the BBC.
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