Archive · 3 Dec 2025
Trump Administration Pauses Immigration from 19 High-Risk Countries
The Trump administration has paused immigration applications from 19 countries it considers high-risk.
This decision comes after an incident where an Afghan national shot two National Guard members in Washington.
The administration believes this step is necessary to prevent terrorists from entering the US.
However, critics argue that this move is a form of collective punishment and could have significant economic fallout.
The USCIS will review all immigrants from these countries who entered the US after January 20, 2021, and place holds on pending benefit requests.
Experts suggest that the US already has a comprehensive vetting process, and this additional screening is nebulous and ill-defined.
The Trump administration paused immigration applications from 19 high-risk countries, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Venezuela.
This decision follows an incident where an Afghan national shot two National Guard members in Washington.
The USCIS will conduct a comprehensive re-review of all immigrants from these countries who entered the US after January 20, 2021.
Pending this review, the US will place holds on pending benefit requests for immigrants from these countries.
Critics argue that this move is a form of collective punishment and could have significant economic fallout, potentially reducing the number of workers and lowering economic growth.
- Who
- US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under the Trump administration
- What
- Paused immigration applications from 19 high-risk countries and placed holds on pending benefit requests
- When
- December 2, 2024
- Where
- United States
- Why
- Citing national security concerns and the need for comprehensive re-review of immigrants from high-risk countries
- Countries Affected
- Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela
- Date of Announcement
- December 2, 2024
- USCIS Action
- Paused all immigration applications and placed holds on pending benefit requests
- Review Period
- 90 days for prioritized list of immigrants
- Impacted Benefit Requests
- Forms I-485, I-90, N-470, I-751, I-131, among others
- Criticism
- Collective punishment, economically questionable, and expansion of nebulous screening
- Economic Impact
- Potential reduction of 6.8 million workers by 2028 and 15.7 million by 2035, lowering annual economic growth by almost one-third