US freezes immigration cases from 19 non-European countries

The Trump administration has said that all immigration applications, including the immigration and green card processes, have been halted.

According to the official memorandum outlining the new policy cites the recent attack on US National Guards outside White House in Washington. The attacker was identified as an Afghan national who killed one National Guard, leaving the other one badly wounded.

However, the list of countries in the memorandum includes Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Although these countries faced a partial ban in June as well.

Trump has also restricted Somalis in recent days, calling them “garbage” and saying “we don’t want them in our country.”

When Trump returned to office in January, he made immigration control his topmost focus. He has deployed government law enforcement officers to cities, likely to enforce immigration laws or address crime linked to immigration. People who are trying to enter the US to seek asylum are being denied now.

The restrictions imposed through the new policies are strictly focused on legal immigration, framed around protecting national security.

The new policy also stated that all immigrants from the listed countries will undergo a re-review process, and if necessary, a re-interview to fully assess all the national security and public safety threats.

Also read: US to permanently pause migration from 'Third World Countries': Trump