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US suspends asylum, immigration requests from ‘high-risk’ nations
(MENAFN) The Trump administration has announced a halt to all pending asylum applications and other immigration benefit requests from nationals of 19 “high-risk countries,” according to a new policy memorandum issued Tuesday by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The directive instructs agency staff to “place a hold on all Forms I-589 (Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal), regardless of the alien’s country of nationality, pending a comprehensive review.”
It also directs officers to “place a hold on pending benefit requests for aliens from countries listed in Presidential Proclamation 10949…pending a comprehensive review, regardless of entry date.”
Additionally, the memo requires a “comprehensive re-review of approved benefit requests” for nationals of the 19 countries who entered the US on or after Jan. 20, 2021. Individuals affected by the policy will undergo renewed vetting, which could include “a potential interview and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess all national security and public safety threats.”
The proclamation cited in the memorandum restricts entry from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, while partially limiting entry from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
The policy follows calls from President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for stricter immigration controls after last week’s shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. The suspect, a 29-year-old Afghan national granted asylum in April, had arrived in the US in 2021 during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and had previously worked with several US government agencies, including the CIA, according to reports.
The directive instructs agency staff to “place a hold on all Forms I-589 (Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal), regardless of the alien’s country of nationality, pending a comprehensive review.”
It also directs officers to “place a hold on pending benefit requests for aliens from countries listed in Presidential Proclamation 10949…pending a comprehensive review, regardless of entry date.”
Additionally, the memo requires a “comprehensive re-review of approved benefit requests” for nationals of the 19 countries who entered the US on or after Jan. 20, 2021. Individuals affected by the policy will undergo renewed vetting, which could include “a potential interview and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess all national security and public safety threats.”
The proclamation cited in the memorandum restricts entry from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, while partially limiting entry from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
The policy follows calls from President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for stricter immigration controls after last week’s shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. The suspect, a 29-year-old Afghan national granted asylum in April, had arrived in the US in 2021 during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and had previously worked with several US government agencies, including the CIA, according to reports.
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