Yesterday, December 2nd, the Trump administration announced a halt on all immigration cases and applications for citizens from 19 non-European countries. The U.S. is no longer accepting immigration applications of citizens from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. For these high-risk nations, this has not been the first struggle with entering the country, as they all have experienced previous limitations on travel and immigration, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
This aggressive new stance on immigration follows the November 29th shooting of two National Guard members in Washington D.C., allegedly by a 29 year-old Afghan national who was granted asylum in April. According to an article published by CBS news, The USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) agency has cited the shooting as a reason for the pause in immigration applications. (Montoya-Galvez, C. (2025, December 2) U.S. Halts All Immigration Cases. CBS NEWS.)
Along with this new policy, government officials have also been addressing concerns regarding the citizenship of immigrants already in the country’s borders. In a post on X, USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow made a statement saying that “At the direction of POTUS, [he has] directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.” This proposed reexamination includes a “re-review” of immigrants from countries of concern who arrived during former President Biden’s time in office.
Government officials have stated that the many new immigration policies enacted are to ensure national security and public safety. USCIS Spokesman Matthew Tragesser expressed that “The Trump administration continues to execute policies to ensure legal immigration advances American interests first and only the most deserving attain the privilege of U.S. citizenship.” (USCIS. (2025, November 11) DHS Strengthens Integrity in Nation’s Immigration System. USCIS Newsroom.)
President Trump stated his opinion on the condition of immigration in the U.S in a cabinet meeting yesterday. When asked about his feelings regarding Somalian immigrants in the U.S., he responded by saying that he “doesn’t want them in our country.” He elaborated, saying that “our country is at a tipping point,” and that the U.S. would “go the wrong way if we keep taking [Somalians] into our country.” (Trump, D. (2025, December 2) Trump on Somalis: ‘I don’t want them in our country’ [Video].)
This rapid passing of anti-immigration policies is likely to continue, as earlier this week Trump administration officials were reportedly considering halting additional countries from submitting immigration applications.
