The United States government has suspended immigration applications for citizens from 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Yemen, and Haiti, according to an official memorandum released Tuesday.
The move intensifies the nation’s ongoing crackdown on migration.
The memo indicated that processing of green cards and citizenship applications has been paused for people from countries already facing travel restrictions introduced in June by President Donald Trump.
Other nations on the list include Venezuela, Sudan, and Somalia.
In recent days, senior US officials have suggested a sharp tightening of immigration policies, a step motivated by last week’s shooting that left two National Guard soldiers injured, killing one.
The prime suspect in the attack, an Afghan national, entered the US during mass evacuations as foreign forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. On Tuesday, he pleaded not guilty to murder charges.
“USCIS plays an instrumental role in preventing terrorists from seeking safe haven in the United States and ensuring that USCIS’ screening and vetting and adjudications prioritize the safety of the American people and uphold all US laws,” the memorandum stated, referring to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The memo also noted that recent events “show what a lack of screening, vetting, and prioritizing expedient adjudications can do to the American people,” pointing to the suspected shooter as an example.
Trump, who ran on a campaign promise to deport millions of undocumented migrants, announced on November 26, following the shooting, that he planned to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover.”
US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem also called on Monday for a broader application of the June travel restrictions.
“I just met with the President. I am recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies,” she said on X, without specifying which nations she wanted included.
Currently, the travel restrictions also cover Burundi, Chad, Republic of Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Turkmenistan.
Additionally, US media reported Tuesday that federal authorities plan to launch a major immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota targeting Somali immigrants, prompting criticism from local officials who vowed non-cooperation.
“Our values and our commitments to the Somali community, to every community of immigrants and people in our city is rock solid and will be unwavering,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
