Trump freezes all immigration applications from 19 countries – as White House prepares to expand travel ban to more than 30 nations

The Trump administration has officially paused all immigration applications – including green card and US citizenship processing – filed by immigrants from 19 non-European countries, citing concerns over national security and public safety.

The pause, which went into effect on Tuesday, applies to people from 19 countries that were already subjected to a partial travel ban in June, placing further restrictions on immigration.

The list of countries includes Afghanistan and Somalia.

But the Trump team is also considering expanding the travel ban to more than 30 countries, according to the New York Post.

The official memorandum outlining the new policy cites the attack on US National Guard members in Washington last week in which an Afghan man has been arrested as a suspect. One member of the National Guard was killed and another was critically wounded in the shooting.

Trump blasted former president Joe Biden for letting unvetted migrants stream into America – claiming he allowed the Afghan shooting suspect into the US during the disastrous 2021 withdrawal.

He has also stepped up his rhetoric against Somalis in recent days, calling them ‘garbage’ and declaring ‘we don´t want them in our country.’

He then announced in a Truth Social post on Thursday night that he will ‘permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover.’

‘Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation,’ he wrote in the Truth Social post, as he vowed to end all federal benefits for noncitizens, denaturalize migrants who undermine the US, and deport any foreign nationals deemed a security risk or ‘non-compatible with Western Civilization’.

The Trump administration on Tuesday said it paused all immigration applications, including green card and US citizenship processing, filed by immigrants from 19 non-European countries

Secretary of State Kristi Noem revealed plans on Monday for a ‘full travel ban’ on countries that are sending ‘killers, leeches and entitlement junkies’

Trump blasted former president Joe Biden for letting unvetted migrants stream into America – claiming he allowed the Afghan shooting suspect into the US during the disastrous 2021 withdrawal. Hundreds of Afghans were seen crowded into cargo jets during the withdrawal

Then on Monday, Secretary of State Kristi Noem revealed plans for a ‘full travel ban’ on countries that are sending ‘killers, leeches and entitlement junkies.’

‘Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom – not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS. WE DON’T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.’

Federal officials have described the move as a ‘full scale, rigorous’ process and a dramatic escalation triggered by Wednesday’s deadly attack in which 29-year-old Afghan Rahmanullah Lakanwal allegedly shot two National Guardsmen who were on duty near the White House.

Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed in the shooting, and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe is now fighting for his life.

Lakanwal arrived in America in 2021 as part of the disastrous US withdrawal from Afghanistan after serving as an ally of Special Forces troops in his CIA-backed ‘Zero Unit’.

During the withdrawal incredible photos and video showed hundreds of Afghans running to board cargo jets. On one plane 640 migrants were overloaded into an aircraft designed to carry 150.

Still, Lakanwal was granted asylum in April – which made him eligible for a green card after one year in the US.

The dad-of-five is now facing first degree murder charges after Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries on Thanksgiving Day.

Afghan soldier Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was named as the alleged gunman in custody for the shooting of two National Guard members near the White House last week

Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed in the shooting, and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe is now fighting for his life.

The list of countries targeted in Tuesday’s memorandum includes Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, which were subjected to the most severe immigration restrictions in June, including a full suspension on entries with a few exceptions.

Others on the list of 19 countries, which were subjected to partial restrictions in June, are Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

The new policy places a hold on pending applications and mandates that all immigrants from the list of countries ‘undergo a thorough re-review process, including a potential interview and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess all national security and public safety threats.’

But it may soon be expanded, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told the Post, saying the agency ‘will be announcing the list soon.’

Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the organization had already received reports of cancelled oath ceremonies, naturalization interviews and adjustment of status interviews for individuals from countries listed on the travel ban.

‘The Trump Administration is making every effort to ensure individuals becoming citizens are the best of the best. Citizenship is a privilege, not a right,’ the DHS spokesperson told the Post.

‘We will take no chances when the future of our nation is at stake,’ he continued, noting that the Trump administration is ‘reviewing all immigration benefits granted by the Biden administration to aliens from Countries of Concern.’