Trump Halts Immigration from 19 Countries

Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced a sweeping pause on immigration applications from 19 high-risk or non-cooperative countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

In addition, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has ordered a full re-review of previously approved cases connected to these nationalities. Administration officials have also signaled that the list could soon expand to as many as 30 countries—a major shift in America’s immigration posture.

DHS and USCIS confirmed a complete halt on immigration benefits for nationals of the affected countries. This pause applies across the board, including:

• Green card petitions
• Employment authorizations
• H-1B and other temporary work visas
• Adjustments of status
• Naturalization processing
• Waivers
• Asylum and humanitarian claims

This means that any pending or future applications tied to these nationalities are effectively frozen until further guidance is issued.

The pause applies to any foreign national born in or holding citizenship from the listed countries.

USCIS also announced a new mandate to reassess all previously approved cases for individuals from these countries who entered the U.S. on or after January 20, 2021. This review authorizes:

• New or repeat interviews
• Case reopenings
• Broad screening under any relevant inadmissibility clause of the Immigration and Nationality Act

This represents one of the most aggressive integrity reviews of immigration files in recent years.

DHS has recommended expanding the list by an additional 10 to 13 countries, with officials suggesting the next tranche will be security-driven and geographically diverse. The final list has not yet been released.

Texans for Strong Borders applauds this strategic move toward restoring security, sovereignty, and sanity to America’s immigration system. The pause protects national interests, strengthens the job market for American workers, and confronts the failures of the last administration head-on.

But we also recognize there is more work to be done. President Trump’s Thanksgiving message suggested that we should pause all migration from third-world countries. 19 countries, many of which have very few people traveling to the United States, are a small fraction of that. The administration must expand this list to ensure that America’s immigration system puts the safety of its citizens and the interests of American workers first.