US pauses processing of immigration applications

The pause on immigration applications applies to people from 19 countries that were already subjected to a partial travel ban in June, placing further restrictions on immigration - a core feature of U.S. President Donald Trump's political platform.

The list of countries includes Afghanistan and Somalia.

The official memorandum outlining the new policy cites the attack on U.S. National Guard members in Washington last week in which an Afghan man has been arrested as a suspect. One member of the National Guard was killed and another was critically wounded in the shooting.

Trump has also stepped-up rhetoric against Somalis in recent days, calling them “garbage” and saying “we don’t want them in our country.”

The flurry of promised restrictions since the attack on National Guard members suggests an increased focus on legal immigration framed around protecting national security and casting blame on former President Joe Biden for his policies.

Last month, the US Bishops issued a “Special Message” addressing their concerns “for the evolving situation impacting immigrants in the United States."

The Bishops’ message called for nations “to recognize the fundamental dignity of all persons, including immigrants” and called for “meaningful reform” of immigration laws and procedures in the United States

The list of countries targeted in Wednesday’s government memorandum includes Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, which were subjected to the most severe immigration restrictions in June, including a full suspension on entries with a few exceptions.

Others on the list of 19 countries, which were subjected to partial restrictions in June, are Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

The new policy places a hold on pending applications and mandates that all immigrants from the list of countries “undergo a thorough re-review process, including a potential interview and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess all national security and public safety threats.”