12/03/2025
- In a move described by critics as a seismic blow to America's immigrant communities and by supporters as a vital safeguard for national security, the Trump administration has issued an immediate, indefinite pause on all U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) proceedings involving nationals from 19 countries flagged under a summer travel ban.
The directive, leaked to CBS News and The New York Times, halts everything from green card approvals and asylum claims to family-based petitions and even long-awaited naturalization ceremonies for legal permanent residents on the path to citizenship.
The internal USCIS guidance, dated Monday and made public Tuesday evening, directs employees to "stop final adjudication on all cases" for applicants from these nations, a broad freeze that ensnares thousands of immigrants already embedded in American life.
This escalation comes amid heightened scrutiny of immigration policies following last week's tragic shooting near the White House, which claimed the life of 20-year-old West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and left 24-year-old Staff Sgt.
The pause builds on a June 4 presidential proclamation that imposed near-total entry restrictions on 12 countries, Afghanistan, Myanmar (Burma), Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, while partially suspending travel from seven others: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. The order cited "deficient" identity verification, high visa overstay rates, and countries' refusal to accept deportees as key concerns.
Publicly, the White House has touted a series of post-shooting measures: a full halt on USCIS asylum adjudications, destruction of pending Afghan visas by State Department diplomats, and an aggressive audit of Biden-era approvals. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the policy on Fox News, stating, "We're reviewing every single file from Biden's era, no more murderers or leeches slipping through."