Donald Trump has declared that immigration applications from 19 countries will be put on hold.
Since returning to the White House for his second term at the start of the year, Trump has intensified his efforts to restrict immigration, especially after last week’s shooting incident in Washington, D.C.
The shooting occurred just a few blocks from the Capitol, resulting in the death of a National Guard member. Another guard was critically injured and is still hospitalized.
The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the U.S. legally in 2021 during Joe Biden’s presidency.
Lakanwal has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and assault.
Following the shooting, which some suspect was linked to terrorism, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced an immediate halt to immigration applications from Afghanistan.
The freeze now extends to 19 countries due to national security and public safety concerns.
In addition to Afghanistan, applications from Burma (Myanmar), Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela are being halted, according to CNN.
There is a possibility that this list could grow to include up to 30 countries if US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s proposal is approved.
On December 1, Noem announced her recommendation for a complete travel ban on countries she claims are sending “killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies” to the U.S.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow expressed similar views following the Washington shooting on November 26.
Edlow stated: “My primary responsibility is to ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible. This includes an assessment of where they are coming from and why.”
He added: “Yesterday’s horrific events make it abundantly clear the Biden administration spent the last four years dismantling basic vetting and screening standards, prioritizing the rapid resettlement of aliens from high-risk countries over the safety of American citizens.”
“The Trump administration takes the opposite approach. Effective immediately, I am issuing new policy guidance that authorizes USCIS officers to consider country-specific factors as significant negative factors when reviewing immigration requests.”
“American lives come first.”
According to USCIS data, this recent decision could impact more than 1.4 million people with pending asylum applications, Sky News reports.