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- author, Drafting
- Author title, BBC World News
Donald Trump’s government announced on Tuesday the suspension of immigration applications from citizens of Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and 16 other non-European countries, who were banned from traveling to the US earlier this year, according to an internal memo seen by BBC partner CBS.
The decision paralyzes pending residency and citizenship applications for people from that group of countries and requires that all immigrants from those countries undergo a “comprehensive review process.”
In addition to the Latin American countries mentioned, the list includes citizens of Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, the Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Sierra Leone, Togo and Turkmenistan.
The measure was formalized by a memorandum from USCIS announcing a comprehensive reassessment process to comprehensively analyze “threats to national and public security, as well as any other reason for inadmissibility or ineligibility.”
According to CBS, the regulations indicate that the suspension is a temporary measure while the administration develops new guidelines on verification of affected immigrants.
“This suspension includes all types of forms and the making of any final decisions (approvals and denials), as well as the performance of any swearing-in ceremonies,” the guidance notes to USCIS offices.
The official text detailing the new policy refers to the armed attack that occurred last week in Washington, D.C., against two National Guard members, one of whom died.
Because of this attack, Rehmanullah Lakkanwal, an Afghan man who cooperated with US forces in Kabul and entered the United States in 2021, and benefited from a program that granted special protection to immigrants from that country, was arrested as a suspect after the US military withdrew from Afghanistan.
The Trump administration had announced the suspension of decisions regarding asylum applications and reviews of permanent residence from that list of countries, but it did not expand this policy to include all Immigration Service cases, including those related to citizenship applications.
Image source, Getty Images
Matthew Tragesser, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Services, confirmed the comment to New York Times.
“The Trump administration is doing everything it can to ensure that those who become citizens are the best. Citizenship is a privilege, not a right,” he declared.
Immigration lawyers say some of their clients have had their citizenship hearings canceled this week, including immigrants from Venezuela, Iran and Afghanistan, according to ABC News.
The naturalization ceremony is the culmination of an application process that can last up to five years. You usually see crowds waving small American flags as new citizens recite the oath of allegiance to the United States.
This latest move by the White House comes as Trump increasingly blames immigrants and refugees for causing what he calls “social dysfunction” in America.
Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has signed an executive order that seeks to “protect American citizens from foreign nationals who may attempt to commit acts of terrorism, pose threats to national security, promote hateful ideologies, or exploit immigration laws for malicious purposes.”
In this context, Trump ordered dozens of federal agents to be sent to major cities in the United States to detain illegal immigrants and carry out deportations.
Image source, Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
Policy relating to Somali citizens
On the other hand, Trump declared that he did not want Somali immigrants in the United States, telling reporters that they should “go back to their country of origin” and that “your country is useless, it has to be for a reason.”
“I don’t want them in our country, to be honest with you,” he said during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Trump added that the United States would be “going down the wrong path” if it continues to “let these people in.”
These insulting comments come at a time when authorities are planning an operation in the large Somali community in Minnesota, targeting people who have been ordered deported.
State officials condemned the plan, arguing that it could unfairly impact American citizens who, because of their appearance, could be mistaken for people originally from the East African country.
Minneapolis and St. Paul, together known as the Twin Cities, are home to one of the largest Somali communities in the world and the largest in the United States.
In his remarks on Tuesday, at the end of a televised Cabinet meeting that lasted several hours, Trump said: “I don’t want them in our country. I’ll be honest with you, okay? Somebody’s going to say, ‘Oh, that’s not politically correct.’ I don’t care. I don’t want them in our country.”
Trump added: “Somalia, which is barely a country, they don’t have anything. They go around killing each other. There’s no structure.”
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