United States President Donald Trump has ordered an immediate freeze on all immigration applications from 19 countries, a move that also halts citizenship ceremonies nationwide.
According to The New York Times, the suspension could impact more than 1.5 million people with pending asylum applications and over 50,000 individuals who were granted asylum under the Biden administration.
The administration is also weighing an expansion of the travel ban to include more than 30 countries.
The new policy directive, released Tuesday night, cites last week’s “terror attack” in Washington, D.C., as a key factor. The incident involved the arrest of Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who is accused of killing a National Guard member and injuring another.
Under the order, full entry bans will apply to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
Restricted access measures will apply to individuals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
“The Trump administration is making every effort to ensure individuals becoming citizens are the best of the best. Citizenship is a privilege, not a right,” said Matthew Tragesser, spokesperson for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
“We will take no chances when the future of our nation is at stake,” he added.
