The United States has stopped processing all immigration applications linked to 19 countries already subject to a travel ban, according to an official internal memo seen by BBC partner CBS News.
Immigration agents have been told to “stop final adjudication in all cases” and suspend naturalization ceremonies for immigrants who are close to obtaining citizenship.
It comes amid reports that Donald Trump is considering expanding a June order restricting travel from 19 countries to 30.
It is the latest tightening of immigration rules following last week’s shooting in Washington, DC, which left one National Guard soldier dead and another in critical condition.
The suspect is an Afghan citizen living in the United States.
On June 4, the White House identified 19 countries – mainly in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean – that would face full or partial restrictions on immigration.
Tuesday’s guidance was issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which last week also paused all asylum decisions and said it would re-examine green card visas issued to U.S. immigrants from countries with travel bans.
The memo, which makes clear the broad restrictions being imposed, says: “This hold includes all forms and final decision making (approvals, denials), as well as completing any swearing-in ceremonies.”
Matthew Tragesser, a spokesperson for UCSIS, confirmed the pause to the New York Times. He said: “The Trump administration is making every effort to ensure that the people who become citizens are the best of the best. Citizenship is a privilege, not a right.”
Immigration attorneys say some clients had citizenship hearings canceled this week, including for immigrants from Venezuela, Iran and Afghanistan, according to ABC News.
The naturalization ceremony is the culmination of up to five years of processing applications. It typically features crowds waving miniature American flags as new citizens read their oath of allegiance to the United States.
The latest move by the White House comes as Trump increasingly blames immigrants and refugees for causing what he calls America’s “social dysfunction.”
The Trump administration has intensified its crackdown on immigration after guard Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed and Andrew Wolfe, 24, was seriously injured in Wednesday’s shooting in the national capital.
The arrested suspect is originally from Afghanistan and had traveled to the United States as part of a program that offered special protection to Afghans who had worked with US forces before the Taliban returned to power.
