After U.S. President Donald Trump said he would "permanently halt immigration from Third World countries," U.S. immigration authorities stopped all asylum screenings for foreign nationals.
Joseph Edlow, Director General of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), wrote on his social media X (formerly Twitter) on the 28th local time that "we have paused all asylum decisions until all foreign nationals can receive maximum screening and vetting," adding, "the safety of the American people is always the top priority." He did not mention when asylum screenings would resume.
Separately, the U.S. Department of State said it has completely halted issuing visas to people from Afghanistan. This includes applications for Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) given to local interpreters and partners who assisted U.S. forces in the Afghan War. The New York Times (NYT) reported, "This move has shut down the last legal avenue for Afghans to enter the United States."
Earlier, in a proclamation in Jun., the U.S. administration fully banned or restricted entry into the United States for nationals of 19 countries, including Iran, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. At the time, exceptions were made for applicants for Special Immigrant Visas who helped the United States, but with this decision, Afghans are effectively completely blocked.
The previous day, President Trump wrote on his social network Truth Social that he would "permanently halt immigration from all Third World countries." In response to a Reuters question asking "which countries are meant," the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it referred to the "19 countries subject to the entry ban." U.S. media view the series of steps as follow-through on Trump's remarks.
The move is seen as an extension of a tougher anti-immigration drive after a shooting targeting the National Guard occurred in downtown Washington, D.C., ahead of Thanksgiving. USCIS immediately suspended indefinitely the screening of immigration applicants from Afghanistan and decided to re-verify entirely the eligibility of green card holders from "countries of concern."