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Immigrant advocacy groups and lawmakers are strongly condemning Donald Trump’s new directive to freeze immigration applications from 19 countries already subject to US travel bans. The backlash comes amid reports that naturalization ceremonies for individuals from these countries are being abruptly canceled.
On Tuesday, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a policy memo ordering an immediate “adjudicative hold” on all asylum applications, regardless of nationality, and initiating a re-evaluation of people from “high-risk countries” who entered the US after Joe Biden took office in January 2021.
The 19 affected countries are Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen — all of which are currently subject to partial or full travel restrictions.
This latest immigration crackdown comes after last week’s Washington DC shooting that left two national guard members wounded, one fatally. The alleged shooter, 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, arrived in the US in September 2021 following the Afghanistan withdrawal and had been granted asylum earlier this year under the Trump administration.
In its memo, USCIS stated: “The United States has recently witnessed the consequences of inadequate screening and expedited adjudications… Given identified concerns and risks to Americans, USCIS has determined that a comprehensive re-review—including possible interviews or re-interviews—of all individuals from high-risk countries who entered on or after January 20, 2021 is necessary.”
Critics say the administration is “scapegoating” entire communities.
Tanya Greene, US director at Human Rights Watch, told the Guardian: “These 19 countries have nothing in common except the administration’s decision to stigmatize people based on birthplace. This sweeping change isn’t about safety — it’s about blaming entire nationalities for one person’s actions. It will tear families apart, endanger those fleeing persecution, and further damage America’s credibility on human rights.”
The National Immigrant Justice Center echoed this, accusing the administration of exploiting the tragedy to impose “yet another ban on Black and brown migrants.” The group warned that the move ignores the real causes of last week’s events and will leave countless immigrants in limbo without due process under US and international law.
Uzra Zeya, CEO of Human Rights First, added: “This moment demands moral courage—not cruelty or cowardice. Halting immigration and asylum processing, combined with divisive and bigoted rhetoric, is dangerous. These actions invite more violence, fuel xenophobia, and dehumanize already traumatized people.”
Robert S. McCaw of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Congress to investigate “the politicized expansion of discriminatory policies,” saying nationwide asylum freezes and repeated interviews of already-vetted applicants offer no real security benefits. “Punishing whole nationalities for the actions of a few is discriminatory, ineffective, and morally indefensible,” he said.
The National Iranian American Council warned that the policy will create immense fear and instability, especially for Iranians already facing “arbitrary deportations.” Many who expected to celebrate upcoming citizenship ceremonies now find their futures thrown into uncertainty. The organization described the policy as “a new level of cruelty and racism.”
Lawmakers have also criticized the administration’s actions, especially Trump’s recent attacks on Somali immigrants, whom he labeled “garbage,” amid intensified deportations targeting Somali communities in Minnesota.
Ilhan Omar, Minnesota’s American-Somali Democratic representative and a frequent Trump target, responded: “He has always been racist, bigoted, xenophobic, and Islamophobic… When he came down that escalator, he vowed to stop Muslim immigration. Most of us are citizens. Minnesota has welcomed us, and we love this state.”
Minnesota’s secretary of state, Steve Simon, added: “Imagine any former president calling Jews, Italians, or Poles in America ‘garbage,’ saying they contribute nothing, and telling them to go back to where they came from. You can’t. Yet here we are in 2025 with a president proudly spreading hateful lies about one nationality. It’s pure bigotry — shameful, ugly, and un-American.”
