Donald Trump shocked Americans with a travel ban in his first term. This goes even further.
Because Trump completely shut down immigration from over a dozen countries.
Heightened Scrutiny for High-Risk Nations
The Trump administration is implementing a temporary halt on immigration applications submitted by individuals from 19 designated high-risk countries, while simultaneously launching a detailed reassessment of previously approved cases from these same locations.
Reports from various outlets suggest this roster of affected nations may soon grow even larger.
At present, this suspension targets applicants from: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen.
These 19 countries were previously flagged as “high-risk,” and in June, President Donald Trump announced full or partial restrictions on entry of individuals from these nations into the U.S.
Reassessing Post-Biden Entries
In addition, federal authorities plan to undertake a fresh examination of any individual from one of these 19 countries who gained entry to the U.S. since the Biden administration’s inception and subsequently received asylum or withholding of removal protections.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services “has determined the operational necessity to ensure that all asylum applicants and aliens from high-risk countries of concern who entered the United States do not pose a threat to national security or public safety,” USCIS wrote in a Tuesday memo.
This renewed vetting of sanctioned immigration requests is likely to extend wait times for those in the queue, though “USCIS has determined the operational necessity to ensure that all asylum applicants and aliens from high-risk countries of concern who entered the United States do not pose a threat to national security or public safety,” according to the agency.
Catalyst: D.C. Shooting and Afghan Visa Freeze
This step comes in the aftermath of a tragic shooting in the District of Columbia last week, which claimed the life of one National Guard member and left another in critical condition.
The prime suspect is an Afghan national who had collaborated with American forces in Afghanistan before arriving in the U.S. following Kabul’s collapse in 2021.
The alleged perpetrator reportedly shouted “Allahu akbar,” translated “God is most great,” during the incident, as detailed in court documents filed Tuesday and covered by The Washington Post.
Beyond this, the Trump administration has frozen the advancement of all visas issued to Afghan nationals.
