The U.S. government has suspended all immigration applications from 19 countries and postponed citizenship ceremonies nationwide, citing national security and public-safety risks.
According to The New York Times, the freeze could impact over 1.5 million people with pending asylum cases and more than 50,000 individuals who were granted asylum under the Biden administration.
The New York Post reports that President Donald Trump is also weighing an expansion of the travel ban to include more than 30 countries.
The policy memo references last week’s alleged “terror attack” in Washington, D.C., involving Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, accused of killing one National Guard member and injuring another.
The full ban targets citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Additional restrictions apply to migrants from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
CBS News notes that the order halts all immigration processing, including the temporary suspension of citizenship ceremonies for lawful permanent residents from the 19 affected nations.
USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser defended the move, saying the administration intends to ensure that only “the best of the best” become U.S. citizens, adding that “citizenship is a privilege, not a right.”
A Department of Homeland Security memo obtained by The Washington Post states that all affected applicants will be required to undergo new security vetting.
The memo says individuals must “undergo a thorough re-review process,” which may include interviews or re-interviews, and grants DHS wide discretion to block applicants deemed “inadmissible or ineligible.”
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