The Trump management announced Tuesday it is indeed suspending processing of citizenship and residency applications for individuals from 19 countries, a move swiftly criticized by immigration advocates as overly broad and likely to create meaningful legal challenges. The decision, framed by officials as a necessary response to national security concerns following a recent shooting near the White House, halts applications from a diverse set of nations already facing political instability and economic hardship. This action builds upon existing travel restrictions and signals a continued hardening of U.S. immigration policy under President Trump, following through on campaign promises to significantly limit immigration.
The United States government has suspended processing of citizenship and residency applications for migrants from 19 countries, a move that further tightens immigration policies under President Donald Trump. The decision impacts individuals from nations including Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela, and comes amid heightened tensions over border security and national security concerns.
In recent months, President Trump has taken a particularly firm stance toward several Latin American nations, notably Venezuela, even authorizing an unprecedented military mobilization in the Caribbean. While the administration claims the deployment is aimed at combating drug trafficking, Caracas alleges the move is intended to destabilize the government of President Nicolás Maduro.
Cuba has been under a U.S. trade embargo for over six decades, and Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, is grappling with a severe humanitarian crisis fueled by gang violence. These existing challenges now intersect with the new restrictions on immigration processing.
According to a government memorandum released on Tuesday, November 2, the Trump administration has halted the processing of “green cards” – permanent residency visas – as well as citizenship applications for individuals from the 19 designated countries. These nations were already subject to travel restrictions implemented in June.
In addition to Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela, the affected countries include Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Myanmar, Burundi, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Turkmenistan.
The announcement follows a shooting incident last week that injured two National Guard soldiers near the White House. Officials had signaled in recent days that stricter immigration policies were forthcoming in response to security concerns.
The suspect in the shooting, who killed one of the soldiers, is an Afghan national who pleaded not guilty to murder charges in court on Tuesday. He arrived in the United States during the mass evacuation operations following the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in 2021.
“Assassins” and “leeches”
The memorandum states that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) “has a central role in preventing terrorists from seeking refuge in the United States and in ensuring that its screening, vetting, and adjudication processes prioritize the safety of the American people and respect all laws.”
The document further asserts that the government has recently demonstrated “what a lack of assessment, verification, and prioritization of rapid decisions can do to the American people,” citing the alleged shooter as an example.
Trump, who campaigned on a promise to deport millions of undocumented migrants, stated on November 26, following the shooting, that he planned to “permanently pause immigration from all countries of the Third World to allow the American system to fully recover.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on Monday called for expanding the list of countries subject to the June travel restrictions. “I just met with the President. I am recommending a total travel ban from every single country that has flooded our nation with killers, leeches, and addicts who believe they are entitled to everything,” she wrote on the social media platform X, without specifying which nations she believes should be included.
U.S. media reported on Tuesday that federal authorities plan to launch a large-scale immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota in the coming days, focusing on Somali citizens. This move has drawn criticism from local politicians, who have stated that state police will not cooperate with the action.
