Police officers block a street during a march by protesters protesting “Operation Midway Blitz” and ICE presence in Chicago on September 9, 2025.
Erin Hooley/AP
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Erin Hooley/AP
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is halting all immigration applications, such as green card requests, for people from the 19 countries it banned travel from earlier this year, as part of broader immigration changes in the wake of the shootings of two National Guard soldiers.
The changes were outlined in a policy memo posted Tuesday on the website of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency tasked with processing and approving all requests for immigration benefits.
The moratorium halts a wide range of immigration-related decisions, such as green card applications or naturalization, for immigrants from 19 countries the Trump administration has labeled high-risk. The memo said it was up to agency Director Joseph Edlow to decide when to lift the moratorium.
In June the administration banned travel to the US by citizens of 12 countries and restricted access to citizens of seven other countries, citing national security concerns.
The ban applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen while restricted access applies to people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
At the time, no action was taken against immigrants from those countries who were already in the US before the travel ban was implemented.
But now the news from USCIS means that people who are already in the US – regardless of when they arrived – will be subject to additional scrutiny.
The agency said it would conduct a comprehensive review of all “approved benefit requests” for immigrants entering the country during the Biden administration.
The agency cited the shooting death of two National Guard soldiers by a suspect who is an Afghan national as reason for the pause and stricter vetting of people from those countries. One National Guard soldier was killed and another was wounded in a Thanksgiving week shooting near the White House.
“In light of the identified concerns and the threat they pose to the American people, USCIS has determined that a comprehensive re-review, including potential interview, is necessary for all aliens from high-risk countries of concern entering the United States on or after January 20, 2021,” the agency said.
The agency said in a Tuesday memo that within 90 days it will create a prioritized list of immigrants for review and, if necessary, referral to Immigration Enforcement or other law enforcement agencies.
Since the shootings, the administration has announced a number of decisions to vet immigrants already in the country and those seeking to come to the US.
Last week, the director of USCIS said in a social media post that his agency would re-examine green card applications for people from countries of “concern.” But Tuesday’s policy guidance goes further and outlines in more detail who will be affected.
USCIS also said last week it was pausing all asylum decisions, and the State Department said it was halting visas for Afghans who aid the U.S. war effort.
Days before the shootings, USCIS said in a separate memo that the administration would review the cases of all asylum seekers entering the US during the Biden administration.
Critics have said the Trump administration’s actions amount to collective punishment for immigrants.
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