America stops immigration applications for nationals of 19 countries, including 4 Arab countries

The administration of US President Donald Trump took a package of new measures on Tuesday to limit immigration to the United States by suspending all immigration applications for citizens of 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Yemen, and Sudan.
The latest move comes after US officials recently indicated that they would significantly tighten immigration restrictions after a shooting that killed a National Guard soldier and wounded her colleague last week, in which an Afghan citizen was charged.

A memorandum issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services stated that the authorities suspended the processing of applications for permanent residency (Green Card) and citizenship for citizens of 12 countries who have no longer been allowed to travel to the United States since June: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, in addition to citizens of seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

The main suspect in the shooting that took place in Washington, close to the White House, on November 26, is an Afghan citizen who entered the United States as part of the large evacuations that took place during the withdrawal of foreign forces from his country in 2021.

He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to the murder charges against him.

The memo stated that USCIS “plays a pivotal role in preventing terrorists from finding safe haven in the United States.”

The memo pointed out that the United States has recently witnessed “what the lack of examination, scrutiny, and prioritization of urgent decision-making procedures can cause to the American people,” pointing to last week’s shooting as an example of this.

Uncertainty
Some immigration law experts said the document left many people in a state of uncertainty.

Aaron Richlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council said in a post on “X” that “the files of even people who have completely passed the citizenship test and are meters away from the finish line are being suspended.”

People whose applications have already been processed may face further scrutiny, as the memo promises “comprehensive reviews” of the conditions of citizens of the 19 countries who came to the United States after January 20, 2021.

Trump, who pledged during his election campaign to deport millions of undocumented immigrants in the wake of the shooting in Washington, announced that he intends to “permanently stop immigration from all third world countries to allow the American system to fully recover.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday that she would seek to expand the list of countries subject to restrictions.

“I just met with the president. I recommend a complete travel ban on every country that floods our nation with murderers, predators, and privilege addicts,” she said on the X platform, without mentioning which countries should be included in the ban.

The American media reported on Tuesday that federal authorities were planning to launch a major immigration enforcement operation against Somali immigrants in Minnesota in the coming days, but local leaders responded by announcing that the state police would not cooperate.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said, “Our values ​​and commitments to the Somali community and to every immigrant community and people in our city are solid and will not be shaken.”