Trump Freezes All Immigration, Asylum Applications from 19 ‘High-Risk’ Nations

( Breitbart )

President Donald Trump’s deputies have shut down the legal migration pathways for people from 19 countries, pending the completion of security checks and interviews.

“The Trump Administration is making every effort to ensure individuals becoming citizens are the best of the best,” said the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency, which added:

We will take no chances when the future of our nation is at stake. The Trump Administration is reviewing all immigration benefits granted by the Biden administration to aliens from Countries of Concern.

The freeze is “unprecedented,” Michael Valverde, a former agency official, told CBS News. “The new guidance indicates that the immigration crackdown directed by Mr. Trump following last week’s shooting of the National Guard members is much broader in scope than previously reported,” the site reported.

The policy is a huge shift from Joe Biden’s presidency, which sought to legalize several million wage-cutting, rent-spiking, illegal migrants. Biden’s deputies and judges pushed their migrants through many quasi-legal pathways, including friendly asylum reviews, deportation freezes, and the award of Temporary Protected Status and humanitarian parole.

The Trump shutdown is freezing asylum claims for all claimants who want to avoid deportation.

It also shuts down paperwork processing, green card approvals, and naturalization ceremonies for people from 19 high-risk national populations who entered the United States under President Joe Biden’s watch.  The freeze applies to migrants from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

Nine of the countries are predominantly Muslim. Most of the countries are small and backward, but four of them — Afghanistan, Venezuela, Iran, and Somalia — have large populations in the United States.

Kristi Noem, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, has hinted the list may be expanded, and at least one report says 10 additional countries may be added.

The policy is not a complete shutdown, despite much demand for a total freeze.

The shutdown policy does not include migrants from Mexican and Central American countries, which together account for a large share of recent migrants. It also exempts migrants from India, which has sent a huge population of 5 million legal, illegal, and quasi-legal migrants via complex networks of companies into white-collar jobs, trucking jobs, and hotel-related jobs sought by Americans throughout the United States.

The USCIS announced the policy on Tuesday afternoon, via a memo to staff saying:

This memorandum mandates that all aliens meeting these criteria undergo a thorough re-review process, including a potential interview6 and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess all national security and public safety threats along with any other related grounds of inadmissibility or ineligibility.7 An individualized, case-by-case review and assessment will be done of all relevant information and facts. USCIS will also conduct a comprehensive review of all relevant policies, procedures, and operational guidance for compliance, accuracy, and needed improvements during this time. This guidance outlines the adjudicative hold, procedural requirements, and processes for the rereview, interview, or re-interview of affected aliens. USCIS personnel are instructed to prioritize national security and public safety concerns and ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations during the adjudication process. All findings must be documented in accordance with established protocols to support any subsequent determinations or actions. Background On January 20, 2025, the President issued Executive Order (EO) 14161, titled Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorist and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats. This order aims to safeguard U.S. citizens from aliens who may seek to commit terrorist acts, pose threats to national security, promote hateful ideologies, or exploit immigration laws for malicious purposes. EO 14161 underscores the importance of vigilance during the visa issuance process to ensure that individuals approved for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans or compromise U.S. national interests. Recently, the United States has seen what a lack of screening, vetting, and prioritizing expedient adjudications can do to the American people. An Afghan national, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, planned a terrorist attack in the United States on Election Day 2024. Tawhedi pled guilty in federal court to conspiring and attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).8 In another instance, an Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is suspected of planning and executing a terrorist attack in Washington, DC against two National Guard members,9 one who was killed and another who remains critically injured. 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 U.S. laws