OAN Staff Blake Wolf
9:24 AM – Wednesday, December 3, 2025
The Trump administration froze immigration applications from 19 countries considered high risk to national security, following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., accused of being carried out by an Afghan national.
On Friday, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Joseph Edlow issued the announcement in a social media post.
“USCIS has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible. The safety of the American people always comes first,” Edlow wrote.
Edlow also announced that President Donald Trump directed him to conduct a “full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.”
“The protection of this country and of the American people remains paramount, and the American people will not bear the cost of the prior administration’s reckless resettlement policies. American safety is non negotiable.”
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A USCIS memo read that the agency “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.”
“Ultimately, USCIS has determined that the burden of processing delays that will fall on some applicants is necessary and appropriate in this instance, when weighed against the agency’s obligation to protect and preserve national security,” the memo added.
The temporary halt also includes a pause on the completion of citizenship ceremonies for legal U.S. permanent residents from the 19 nations listed on the temporary ban.
The 19 nations affected by the order previously received travel restrictions on June 4th, including: Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen.
On Tuesday, President Trump criticized Somali immigrants in the United States after the large Somali community in Minnesota had been accused of stealing millions of taxpayer dollars through fraudulent social contracts billed to the state.
“They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country,” Trump told reporters on Somali immigrants. “Their country is no good for a reason. Your country stinks, and we don’t want them in our country.”
“These aren’t people that work. These aren’t people that say, ‘Let’s go, c’mon. Let’s make this place great.’ These are people that do nothing but complain,” he continued. “We can go one way or the other, and we’re going to go the wrong way, if we keep taking in garbage into our country.”
“Ilhan Omar is garbage. She’s garbage. Her friends are garbage,” Trump added, referencing far-left Somali immigrant Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).
Additionally, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem released an X post on Monday, announcing her endorsement of a “full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”
“Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom—not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS. WE DON’T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.”
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