(AURN News) — The Trump administration has effectively frozen a massive portion of the nation’s immigration system, according to a newly released Department of Homeland Security memo.
The memo confirms that all pending asylum cases — more than 1.4 million applications — are now on hold. In addition, the administration is pausing green card and naturalization requests for people from 19 countries labeled as high risk.
Those countries include Haiti, Iran, Sudan, Yemen, Cuba, Venezuela, Eritrea, Somalia and others. Under the directive, officials must re-review past approvals and reopen cases for anyone from these countries who entered the United States after Jan. 20, 2021. The memo states there are no exceptions, meaning individuals may face new interviews or re-interviews.
DHS cites two recent terrorism-related cases involving Afghan nationals as justification for the system-wide halt, arguing the agency requires time to overhaul its vetting procedures.
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
