By Obinna Uballa
The Donald Trump administration in the United States has ordered an immediate halt to all pending asylum applications and immigration benefit requests filed by nationals of 19 countries, including Congo, Eritrea, Sundan, among others, designated as “high-risk,” according to a new policy memorandum issued Tuesday by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The directive instructs USCIS personnel to suspend processing of all Forms I-589 (Applications for Asylum and Withholding of Removal) for every applicant – regardless of nationality – pending a sweeping internal review.
In addition, immigration officers are ordered to place an automatic hold on all pending immigration benefits sought by citizens of the countries listed under Presidential Proclamation 10949, irrespective of when they entered the United States.
The memo goes further, mandating a full re-review of already approved immigration benefits for nationals of the 19 affected countries who entered the US on or after January 20, 2021. This renewed vetting process may include fresh interviews “to fully assess all national security and public safety threats,” the document states.
The proclamation covers restrictions on citizens of: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, and imposes partial entry limits on nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
The policy shift follows mounting pressure from President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for tougher immigration controls after the deadly shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C.
The suspect in the attack, a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the US in 2021 after the American withdrawal from Afghanistan, had been granted asylum in April and previously worked with multiple US government agencies, including the CIA, US media reported.
