The Trump administration has reportedly halted all immigration processing — including Green Cards, citizenship applications, and naturalization ceremonies — for individuals from 19 high-risk countries after an Afghan migrant shot two National Guard troops near the White House last week. The move represents the administration’s most sweeping immigration action since retaking office and underscores its commitment to prioritizing national security following what officials say was a preventable tragedy.
According to a Tuesday memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), officers have been ordered to pause all decision-making for applicants from the designated “countries of concern.” The freeze applies to asylum-seekers, visa applicants, lawful permanent residents awaiting Green Cards, and immigrants already scheduled to take the oath of citizenship — many of whom are now seeing their ceremonies canceled.
The affected nations include Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. All were previously subject to Trump-era travel restrictions rolled out in June.
The USCIS memo states that the pause is intended “to safeguard U.S. citizens from aliens who may seek to commit terrorist acts, pose threats to national security, promote hateful ideologies, or exploit immigration laws for malicious purposes.”
The administration also announced a full re-review of every asylum case approved since Joe Biden took office in 2021 — specifically those admitted under Biden’s chaotic “Operation Allies Welcome.” That program brought more than 77,000 Afghans into the U.S. after the botched withdrawal from Kabul, many of whom, Trump officials say, were never properly vetted.
The policy shift comes in direct response to the November 26 attack, during which Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan migrant and Biden-era arrival, allegedly shot two West Virginia National Guard members patrolling near the White House. Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed. Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, also 20, remains in critical condition.
Lakanwal received asylum in April of this year — a decision the Trump administration now says never should have happened. Despite claims from Biden officials that Lakanwal’s past work with U.S. agencies qualified him for resettlement, CIA Director John Ratcliffe revealed last week that such claims were used broadly and often irresponsibly to justify Afghan entries.
President Trump responded immediately after the attack, ordering a halt to all Afghan visa issuance and pausing asylum decisions while demanding a full accounting of how Lakanwal entered the country.
The administration’s broader freeze across 19 countries signals that the White House intends to overhaul the immigration system far beyond undoing Biden’s policies. It also reflects growing public concern over national security threats linked to lax vetting under the previous administration.
While critics claim the freeze is overly broad, supporters argue it is long overdue and necessary to prevent future tragedies like the D.C. shooting — and to restore sanity and security to the U.S. immigration system after years of neglect.
Trump officials have been clear: this is only the beginning of a much larger effort to repair the damage done since 2021.
