Trump pauses all immigration applications from THESE 19 countries - Is your country on the list: CHECK here

The US on Tuesday (Dec 2) paused all immigration applications, including green card and US citizenship processing, filed by immigrants from 19 non-European countries. The list includes Afghanistan and Somalia, among other nations. The Trump administration cited concerns over national security and public safety to justify its decision. The pause applies to people from 19 countries that were already subjected to a partial travel ban in June, placing further restrictions on immigration. As a part of its immigration crackdown, US State Department in November announced an immediate pause on visa issuance for Afghan passport holders.

Check if your country on the list?

The countries on the list are as follows:

• Afghanistan
• Burma (Myanmar)
• Chad
• Republic of the Congo
• Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrea
• Haiti
• Iran
• Libya
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Yemen
• Burundi
• Cuba
• Laos
• Sierra Leone
• Togo
• Turkmenistan
• Venezuela

The official memorandum 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 has also stepped up rhetoric against Somalis in recent days, calling them “garbage” and saying “we don’t want them in our country.” 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.” The memorandum cited several recent crimes suspected to have been committed by immigrants, including the National Guard attack. Since returning to office in January, Trump has aggressively prioritised immigration enforcement, sending federal agents to major US cities and turning away asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border.