Donald Trump blocks all immigration applications from 19 countries – and plans to extend ban to 30 nations
More than 1.5 million migrants attempting to move to the US will be impacted by the White House's application freeze, the New York Times reports.
Donald Trump has blocked all immigration applications from 19 countries because of national security and public safety concerns.
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More than 1.5 million migrants attempting to move to the US will be impacted by the White House's application freeze, the New York Times reports.
A further 50,000 legal permanent residents from these countries will also be impacted, as citizenship ceremonies have also been temporary suspended by the Trump administration.
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And the US president is not finished there, with reports suggesting he is considering expanding the ban to more than 30 countries.
His immigration crackdown comes as part of a mass government response to last week's gun attack on the streets of D.C., where one National Guard member was killed and another was left fighting for his life.
Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who arrived in America in 2021, was arrested and faces a first-degree murder charge.
The ban will affect citizens from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Restricted access applies to people 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," US Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser said.
"We will take no chances when the future of our nation is at stake."
A leaked Department of Homeland Security memo stated all asylum seekers attempting to move to the US will need to be vetted again.
The memo, first seen by the Washington Post, read: "This memorandum mandates that all aliens meeting these criteria undergo a thorough re-review process, including a potential interview and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess all national security and public safety threats."
Applications can now simply be blocked by the DHS using the broad definition of "inadmissibility or ineligibility".
Trump first announced his sweeping ban plans last week, saying he would "permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover".
Writing in a Truth Social post last Thursday, the president said: "Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation."
On Monday, the Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem unveiled the plans for a "full travel ban" to stop people coming into the US from countries with "killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies".
Ms Noem wrote on social media: "Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom - not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS. WE DON'T WANT THEM. NOT ONE."
The dramatic escalation comes in response to the D.C attack last Wednesday, where Guardsman Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries in the fatal shoot-out at Farragut West metro station.
A second Guard, Andrew Woolfe, 24, is still fighting for his life after being critically injured in the attack.
Lakanwal, a father of five and Afghan national, allegedly drove across the county from his home in Bellingham, Washington, to carry out the ambush-style attack.
The alleged gunman - a former special forces commander who worked with the CIA - came to the US in 2021 under a Biden-era resettlement programme for Afghans fleeing the Taliban takeover.
The operation was set up following America's catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, which cost 13 Americans their lives and ultimately allowed the Taliban to seize back control.
Lakanwal applied for asylum in 2024 and had it granted in April 2025 by the Trump administration.
Trump also made attempts to limit immigration in June, signing a proclamation to "fully restrict and limit the entry of nationals" following an antisemitic bomb attack in Colorado, allegedly carried out by Mohamed Soliman, an Egyptian national in the US on an expired tourist visa.
At the time, the same 19 countries were subjected to partial travel restrictions.
Announcing these restrictions in June, Trump said: "The tragedy in Colorado underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted.
"We've seen one terror attack after another from foreign visa overstayers... thanks to Biden's open door policies today there are millions and millions of these illegals who should not be in our country."
All immigrants from the listed countries will be required to "undergo a thorough re-review process, including a potential interview and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess all national security and public safety threats."
"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" a DHS spokesperson told the Post.