Washington, 3 Dec

The Trump administration has paused immigration applications including green card and naturalisation requests for people from 19 countries previously placed under a US travel ban earlier this year, citing national security concerns after the fatal shooting of a National Guard soldier near the White House.

The move was announced through a policy memo uploaded Tuesday by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which processes all immigration benefits. The agency said the freeze affects immigrants from nations the administration has categorised as “high-risk”. USCIS Director Joseph Edlow will decide when the pause is lifted.

In June, the administration imposed a travel ban on citizens from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Access was also restricted for people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

Previously, those already living in the US were unaffected. The new guidance, however, means even immigrants who arrived years before the ban will now face additional checks.

USCIS said it will re-evaluate all “approved benefit requests” for immigrants who entered the country during the Biden administration. The memo links the decision to the Thanksgiving-week attack in which one National Guard soldier was killed and another injured. The suspect is an Afghan national.

“In light of identified concerns and the threat to the American people, USCIS has determined that a comprehensive re-review, potential interview, and re-interview of all aliens from high-risk countries of concern who entered the United States on or after 20 January 2021, is necessary,” the memo stated.

A 90-day review will create a priority list for reassessment and potential referral to immigration enforcement agencies.

The move is part of a wider crackdown since the shooting, which includes pausing asylum decisions and suspending visas for Afghans who aided the US war effort.

Critics argue the sweeping restrictions amount to collective punishment targeting specific nationalities.