The United States, as of today, has suspended immigration applications for individuals from 19 'countries of concern' countries, according to a presidential proclamation issued in June, as stated in a policy memorandum released yesterday by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services plans to 'suspend the adjudication of benefit applications for individuals from these countries' 'pending a comprehensive review, regardless of entry date,' the memorandum states. The 19 countries include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Earlier, sources told the American CNN network that the agency would review all green cards issued to individuals from the 19 countries, but the suspension of immigration applications represents another step in the administration's campaign to tighten immigration policies. The memorandum also suspends all asylum applications, regardless of the applicant's nationality, pending a comprehensive review. Last week, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, announced that the United States is temporarily suspending all asylum decisions 'to ensure that every foreigner undergoes scrutiny and security screening to the maximum extent possible.' The memorandum mandates a 'comprehensive re-adjudication,' which may include multiple potential interviews to assess 'potential threats to national security and public safety.' The 're-adjudication' process specifically applies to individuals who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021, the day President Joe Biden took office. The memorandum comes just days after a shooting involving two members of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., which resulted in one soldier's death and another seriously injured. The shooting suspect, an Afghan national, had previously served with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan and was later resettled in Washington state under the previous Biden administration, and subsequently obtained asylum under the Trump administration.
