Politics USA halts immigration applications of people from 19 countries
President Donald Trump's US administration is suspending all immigration applications from people from 19 countries following the fatal shooting of two National Guardsmen.
03.12.2025, 17:30
SDA
Furthermore, all previously approved applications from migrants from countries classified as "high-risk" who entered the country on or after January 20, 2021 - i.e. during the administration of Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden - are to be reviewed, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security. The 19 countries include Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba and Venezuela.
First measures taken after attack on National Guardsmen
The reasons given for the new measures were to protect the USA from foreign terrorism and other national security threats. This was prompted by the shooting of two National Guardsmen by the suspected perpetrator - a man from Afghanistan - last week. One of the two victims, a 20-year-old woman, succumbed to her injuries. According to US media reports, the alleged perpetrator entered the USA in 2021, but was only granted asylum in 2025 after Trump took office.
Just a few hours after the attack, the immigration authorities announced that they were suspending the processing of all immigration applications from Afghan nationals until further notice. Following Trump's instructions, the head of the authority, Joseph Edlow, also announced a "thorough and comprehensive review of all green cards of all foreign nationals from all problematic countries". A green card allows foreign nationals to reside and work permanently in the USA.
Following the incident, Trump himself announced that all people from Afghanistan who had come to the USA under his Democratic predecessor Biden would be vetted.
At the beginning of June, Trump imposed an entry ban on nationals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. People from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela were only allowed to enter the United States on a restricted basis.
