Trump Admin Halts Some Immigration Apps12/03 06:15

   The Trump administration is pausing all immigration applications such as 
requests for green cards for people from 19 countries banned from travel 
earlier this year, as part of sweeping immigration changes in the wake of the 
shooting of two National Guard troops.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Trump administration is pausing all immigration 
applications such as requests for green cards for people from 19 countries 
banned from travel earlier this year, as part of sweeping immigration changes 
in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard troops.

   The changes were outlined in a policy memo posted Tuesday on the website of 
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency tasked with processing 
and approving all requests for immigration benefits.

   The pause puts on hold a wide range of immigration-related decisions such as 
green card applications or naturalizations for immigrants from those 19 
countries that the Trump administration has described as high-risk. It's up to 
the agency's director, Joseph Edlow, on when to lift the pause, the memo said.

   The administration in June banned travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 
countries and restricted access for those from seven others, citing national 
security concerns.

   The ban applied to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of 
Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen 
while the restricted access applied to people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra 
Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

   At the time, no action was taken against immigrants from those countries who 
were already in the U.S. before the travel ban went into effect.

   But now the news from USCIS means those people already in the U.S. -- 
regardless of when they arrived -- will come under extra scrutiny.

   The agency said it would conduct a comprehensive review of all "approved 
benefit requests" for immigrants who entered the country during the Biden 
administration.

   The agency cited the shooting of two National Guard troops by a suspect who 
is an Afghan national as a reason for the pause and heightened scrutiny for 
people from those countries. One National Guard soldier was killed and another 
wounded in the Thanksgiving week shooting near the White House.

   "In light of identified concerns and the threat to the American people, 
USCIS has determined that a comprehensive re-review, potential interview, and 
re-interview of all aliens from high-risk countries of concern who entered the 
United States on or after January 20, 2021 is necessary," the agency said.

   The agency said in the Tuesday memo that within 90 days it would create a 
prioritized list of immigrants for review and if necessary, referral to 
immigration enforcement or other law enforcement agencies.

   Since the shooting, the administration has announced a flurry of decisions 
it was taking to scrutinize immigrants already in the country and those seeking 
to come to the U.S.

   Last week, the director of USCIS said in a social media post that his agency 
would be reexamining green card applications for people from countries "of 
concern." But the policy directive Tuesday goes further and lays out in more 
detail the scope of who will be affected.

   USCIS also said last week that it was pausing all asylum decisions, and the 
State Department said it was halting visas for Afghans who assisted the U.S. 
war effort.

   Days before the shooting, USCIS said in a separate memo that the 
administration would review the cases of all refugees who entered the U.S. 
during the Biden administration.

   Critics have said that the Trump administration's actions have amounted to 
collective punishment for immigrants.