New Rules for Immigrants from Certain Countries

Recent changes have been made to immigration policies. The U. S. government has decided to put a hold on many immigration processes for people from 19 specific countries. These countries are seen as high-risk. The decision includes a wide range of processes, like green card applications and naturalizations. The pause is indefinite, and the agency's director will decide when to lift it.

Previous Restrictions

The U. S. government had previously banned travel from 12 countries and restricted access from 7 others. This was done in June, citing national security concerns.

Countries affected by the ban:

• Afghanistan
• Myanmar
• Chad
• Republic of Congo
• Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrea
• Haiti
• Iran
• Libya
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Yemen

Countries with restricted access:

• Burundi
• Cuba
• Laos
• Sierra Leone
• Togo
• Turkmenistan
• Venezuela

Initially, immigrants from these countries who were already in the U. S. were not affected. However, the recent changes mean that all immigrants from these countries, regardless of when they arrived, will now face extra scrutiny.

Comprehensive Review

The U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has stated that it will conduct a comprehensive review of all approved benefit requests for immigrants who entered the country during the Biden administration. This decision comes after a shooting involving an Afghan national, where a National Guard soldier was killed, and another was wounded.

The agency has announced that within 90 days, it will create a prioritized list of immigrants for review. If necessary, these individuals may be referred to immigration or other law enforcement agencies.

Increased Scrutiny

Since the shooting, the administration has made several decisions to increase scrutiny on immigrants already in the country and those seeking to enter. Last week, the director of USCIS mentioned on social media that the agency would be reexamining green card applications for people from countries of concern. However, the recent policy directive provides more details on the scope of who will be affected.

Additionally, USCIS has paused all asylum decisions, and the State Department has halted visas for Afghans who assisted the U. S. war effort. Before the shooting, USCIS announced that the administration would review the cases of all refugees who entered the U. S. during the Biden administration.

Criticism

Critics argue that these actions by the Trump administration amount to collective punishment for immigrants.