The US has halted the processing of all immigration applications involving the 19 countries already subject to the travel ban, according to an internal official memo seen by BBC partner CBS News.
Immigration agents have been told to “withhold final judgment on all cases”, and to stop naturalization ceremonies for immigrants on the verge of attaining citizenship.
This comes amid reports that Donald Trump is considering expanding a June order limiting travel from 19 countries to 30 countries.
It is the latest incident to tighten immigration rules following last week’s shooting in Washington, DC, that left one National Guard soldier dead and another in critical condition.
The suspect is an Afghan citizen living in America.
On June 4, the White House identified 19 countries – primarily in Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean – that would face full or partial immigration restrictions.
The guidance on Tuesday was issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which last week also halted all asylum decisions, and said it would re-examine green card visas issued to immigrants to the US from countries with travel restrictions.
The memo, which clarifies the wide-ranging restrictions being imposed, says: “This moratorium includes the completion of all forms and any final decisions (approval, denial) as well as any oath-taking ceremony.”
UCSIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser confirmed the stop to The New York Times. He said, “The Trump administration is making every possible effort to ensure that the people who become citizens are the best. Citizenship is a privilege, not a right.”
Immigration lawyers say some clients’ citizenship hearings have been canceled this week, including those for immigrants coming from Venezuela, Iran and Afghanistan, according to ABC News.
The naturalization ceremony is the culmination of up to five years of application processing. It usually features a crowd waving small American flags as new citizens read the oath of allegiance to the United States.
The latest move by the White House comes as Trump increasingly blames migrants and refugees for America’s “social dysfunction.”
The Trump administration has stepped up its immigration crackdown after 20-year-old guardsman Sarah Beckstrom was killed and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe was seriously injured in a shooting last Wednesday in the national capital.
The suspect who has been arrested is originally from Afghanistan, and had traveled to the US under a program that provides special protection to Afghans who served with US forces before the Taliban returned to power.
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