US Suspends Immigration Processing for Citizens of 19 Countries Amid Heightened Security Measures

The United States government has suspended the processing of immigration applications, including green cards and citizenship, for nationals of 19 countries such as Afghanistan, Yemen and Haiti, according to an official memorandum released Tuesday. The move expands the country’s broader crackdown on migration.

The suspension applies to individuals from nations that were already covered under travel restrictions announced in June by President Donald Trump. The list also includes Venezuela, Sudan and Somalia.

Senior US officials have recently indicated that immigration rules would be tightened significantly, a response accelerated by the shooting of two National Guard soldiers last week. One soldier died in the incident.

The main suspect—an Afghan national who arrived in the US during the 2021 mass evacuations following the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan—pleaded not guilty to murder charges on Tuesday.

“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, referencing the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The document added that the US had recently seen “what a lack of screening, vetting, and prioritizing expedient adjudications can do to the American people,” pointing to last week’s shooting suspect as an example.

President Trump, who has pledged to deport millions of undocumented migrants, said on November 26 that he intended to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover.”

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday called for the expansion of the list of countries under June’s 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 posted on X, without specifying any nations.

The existing travel restrictions also cover Burundi, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Togo and Turkmenistan.

Meanwhile, US media reported Tuesday that federal authorities are preparing a major immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota targeting Somali immigrants. Local officials pushed back, saying state and city law enforcement would not participate.

“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,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.

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