The Trump administration has ordered a pause on immigration decisions for people from 19 countries previously subject to travel restrictions, following the fatal shooting of a National Guard member near the White House by an Afghan national. The move affects green card and citizenship applications and extends a broader clampdown on asylum and other immigration benefits for certain nationalities.
U.S. immigration authorities have halted decisions on a wide range of applications from people hailing from 19 countries previously targeted by Trump-era travel restrictions, according to a memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
The pause applies to immigration benefit requests such as green cards and naturalizations for nationals of those 19 countries, which include Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Yemen and Haiti, among others. The Associated Press and Reuters report that 12 of the countries are subject to full travel bans and seven face partial restrictions under a policy President Trump announced in June. Those measures initially focused on travelers abroad but are now being extended to many immigrants already in the United States as part of an intensified security review.
According to NPR and the Associated Press, the latest directive requires officials to reevaluate pending applications from the affected nations and could lead to additional vetting or interviews. Advocacy groups and applicants have reported canceled naturalization and other immigration appointments for people from these countries as the new policy takes effect.
The shift comes days after a shooting in downtown Washington, D.C., that left one member of the West Virginia National Guard dead and another critically wounded. Authorities say the soldiers were on duty near the Farragut West Metro station, a short distance from the White House, when they were attacked on November 26.
Prosecutors have charged Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, with crimes including first-degree murder and assault with intent to kill. NPR and other outlets report that Lakanwal worked with CIA-backed units in Afghanistan and entered the United States in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that resettled Afghans who assisted U.S. forces after the troop withdrawal. He applied for asylum during the Biden administration, and advocates for Afghan evacuees say his asylum was approved this year under Trump.
Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, of the West Virginia National Guard, died from her wounds after the shooting, while Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe was hospitalized in critical condition, according to the Associated Press.
In a memo explaining the new measures, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the agency is pausing certain decisions "until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible," writing on X that "the safety of the American people always comes first," NPR reports. The Department of Homeland Security has separately told CNN it has already halted immigration requests from Afghanistan and is reviewing all asylum cases approved under former President Biden.
The administration has also announced a broader halt on asylum decisions in the wake of the attack, PBS NewsHour, citing the Associated Press, has reported. Officials say they are reassessing how cases from countries deemed "of concern" are processed while they conduct a wider security review.
The latest moves build on earlier steps to tighten legal immigration pathways. In late November, the administration began reevaluating refugee admissions and asylum approvals granted under Biden, with the possibility of re-interviews and, in some cases, revocations. Immigration advocates argue the new policies amount to collective punishment of people from the targeted nations, while the White House maintains that the measures are necessary to protect national security.
