The path to U.S. citizenship is facing new hurdles as the administration implements stricter immigration policies, prompting widespread anxiety among applicants and legal residents. Following a recent escalation in enforcement measures-including threats to revoke citizenship-individuals from a growing list of countries are experiencing delays and indefinite pauses in processing their applications. This report details the impact of these policies, highlighting personal stories and legal analysis of a shifting immigration landscape.
The path to U.S. citizenship has become increasingly uncertain for applicants from several countries as the Biden administration implements stricter immigration policies, following a recent escalation in enforcement measures. The changes, impacting individuals already in the legal immigration process, come amid heightened scrutiny and a renewed focus on national security concerns.
Zoe, a Cuban resident of New York for five years, learned her citizenship interview scheduled for December 3, 2025, had been canceled in a notification from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). She had been diligently preparing, reviewing the lives of historical figures and the duties of American citizens. “I was so happy, studying Lincoln, Washington, and every member of Congress,” she said. Now, an email informed her that her naturalization process was indefinitely stalled.
The brief USCIS notice, received December 1, stated that Zoe would be informed of any further action, including rescheduling her interview. The agency expressed regret for any inconvenience.
Zoe initially believed the cancellation might be due to a logistical issue. “I thought maybe it was just a coincidence, a snowstorm or staffing shortages due to a government shutdown,” she said. However, news reports the following day confirmed a broader policy shift: the Trump administration had paused processing applications from nationals of 19 countries deemed high-risk, including Cuba and Venezuela. This move expands a travel ban initially announced in June, suspending applications for permanent residency and citizenship and subjecting applicants to more thorough reviews.
USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow said in a statement the agency was implementing “additional safeguards to ensure that fraud, deception, and threats do not compromise the integrity of our immigration system.” Migrants across the country quickly began reporting similar email cancellations, including postponed citizenship oath ceremonies. The move underscores the administration’s commitment to stricter immigration controls.
The latest measures target those previously considered relatively secure – lawful permanent residents nearing citizenship. This comes at a time when the administration has even threatened to revoke citizenship and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has increased enforcement actions, including detentions of naturalized citizens. As a result, many immigrants feel no one is safe from deportation.
“I’d been having conversations with my husband for months, ever since more and more videos started circulating of ICE’s arbitrary arrests,” Zoe said. “He told me none of this would affect me, that I’m a legal resident, married to an American citizen, with an American child. But I felt it would, that they would come after all immigrants, looking for new and frightening ways to intimidate us. Being a legal resident in the United States right now feels like being a second-class citizen. I’m afraid to travel and be denied re-entry, afraid my green card will be revoked, afraid of being separated from my baby.”
The administration initially focused on stopping illegal immigration and deporting “the worst of the worst.” Suspensions of Temporary Protected Status and humanitarian parole followed. Enforcement then expanded to immigration courts, with ICE becoming a visible presence in major cities. But the administration has gone further, broadening the definition of “criminal” and sending a clear message: no foreigner is welcome.
During a flight on Air Force One, Trump recently outlined his idea of “reverse migration” – removing people from the country who entered during the Biden administration. When asked if he would consider denaturalizing citizens, he responded, “If I have the power to do it, I will. Absolutely.”
Processes on Hold
The shooting of two National Guard members by a 29-year-old Afghan citizen, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, in Washington D.C., prompted the administration to escalate its anti-immigrant policies. Shortly after the incident, Trump threatened to suspend immigration from “all Third World countries.” New measures followed in late November, putting immigration processes on hold.
Immigration attorney Liudmila Marcelo said the policies primarily affect those without criminal records. “These are the people who report to ICE, attend their court dates, and want to follow the correct steps to obtain legal status,” she explained. “It’s never been about immigrants with criminal records, because those immigrants are difficult to find and process; they don’t go to court, and they don’t report to ICE.”
Ángela Linares – who requested a pseudonym – has been repeatedly affected by the administration’s immigration policies. She believed she had found a legal pathway to the U.S. after being granted humanitarian parole more than a year ago. When the White House ended the program, Linares found herself living in the shadows in Florida.
“They left me here illegally. I had to put my life on pause because, as soon as they limited all the processes, I didn’t receive my work permit or my residency. Life is on pause,” she said. She now works “under the table” and is afraid to drive from her home in West Palm Beach to visit her parents in Cape Coral, fearing a police stop. “My father doesn’t want me to visit him; he knows any trip is a risk. You get detained, and they don’t care about anything. They’re violating everything; there’s no sense of security.”
The family lives in fear that, after nearly a decade of waiting, Linares, 49, will be forced to leave alone again. Her parents, U.S. citizens, began the process of petitioning for her in 2016. In 2024, she was able to join them as a humanitarian parolee. She received a notice to appear at the Cuban embassy to obtain her reunification visa while already in the U.S. Under different circumstances, she might have considered returning to the island to complete the process, but the travel ban now considers her a “low priority.” She also lost her opportunity to pursue the claim.
With the latest measures, another blow fell. As a Cuban national, she was eligible to apply under the Cuban Adjustment Act, but her residency process is now affected. In a post on X in late November, Joseph B. Edlow, the USCIS director, said he had ordered “a rigorous, large-scale review of every resident card of every alien from every country of concern” at Trump’s request.
According to attorney Marcelo, pausing these processes “means the backlog of cases will grow,” despite already significant delays in processing residency applications under the Cuban Adjustment Act. “This will bring even greater uncertainty for those who don’t feel safe until they receive their permanent residency, because while it’s true they meet the requirements, as long as that residency isn’t granted, they are in danger of being detained.”
Asylum petitions have also been put on hold. According to Edlow, the suspension will remain in place “until we can ensure that all aliens are investigated and screened with the utmost rigor.” The measure affects more than 1.5 million people with pending asylum applications.
Despite the changes, attorney Aaron Ortiz-Santos advises clients to continue filing their cases. “We tell people to keep submitting them so that if the rules are challenged and suspended, they can continue the processes.” However, there is currently no official date for when processing will resume.
“They’re Taking Away What’s Essential for People to Leave”
The U.S. government – aware that “the largest deportation in history” would be extremely costly and that locating millions of undocumented individuals is not easy – has been employing other strategies to corner them or encourage self-deportation.
The administration began the last month of the year with restrictions on work permits, limiting them to 18 months instead of five years. The USCIS director said the measure ensures that those “seeking to work in the United States do not pose a threat to public safety or promote ideologies contrary to national values.”
Additionally, several migrants have reported receiving notices from their banks requesting they update their immigration status to avoid account closures or freezes. Those without asylum applications, residency, or work permits will be unable to justify their status.
Linares says the biggest challenge right now is waking up each morning “with no security.” “How are you going to live if you don’t have money? Because if you don’t have a work permit and you can’t earn, you can’t afford rent. What do you do if you don’t have a driver’s license in a country where you have to drive? They’re suffocating you, taking away your freedom, you can’t move, and if you don’t have a job, you can’t live in this country. That’s what they’re doing. They’re taking away what’s essential for people to leave.”
