Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Trump administration halts visas for Afghan nationals who assisted US military — The Trump administration halted visa processing for Afghans who assisted the US war effort, reversing longstanding commitments to those who worked with American forces. The policy reversal came after a shooting by an Afghan national and follows Trump's vow to "permanently pause" migration from certain countries. Legal experts and advocates warn the targeting of Afghan nationals amounts to collective punishment.
• Trump administration pauses all asylum decisions nationwide — The Trump administration halted all asylum decisions through USCIS, affecting approximately 1.5 million pending cases. USCIS Director Joseph B Edlow announced the agency "has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible." The pause came after Trump vowed to "permanently pause" migration following a shooting by an Afghan national. The policy leaves asylum seekers in prolonged limbo and exacerbates existing backlogs.
• Trump administration re-evaluates green card applications from countries of concern — The Trump administration announced it is re-evaluating green card applications for people from countries designated as "of concern," part of a broader immigration restriction package. The policy affects legal permanent residency applications and compounds uncertainty for immigrants already in the US. The announcement followed a shooting by an Afghan national and Trump's pledge to restrict migration.
• Trump administration targeted Afghan immigrants for deportation — The New York Times reported that the Trump administration is targeting Afghan immigrants who had previously been ordered to leave the US following the shooting of two National Guard troops in DC last week, with an ICE official directing agents to locate and apprehend more than 1,860 Afghans who have received final deportation orders but aren't currently in detention.
• USCIS suspended immigration applications from 19 countries — USCIS issued a policy memo suspending all immigration applications filed by people from the 19 countries included in Trump's travel ban, including green card and US citizenship processing. The memo also directed agency staffers to conduct a "comprehensive re-review" of approved benefit requests for immigrants from the 19 countries who entered the US since Biden was inaugurated in 2021.
• Trump administration pauses asylum applications and imposes heightened scrutiny on migrants from 19 countries — President Trump directed US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to pause consideration of approximately 1.5 million pending asylum applications, citing a shooting allegedly committed by an Afghan national. Simultaneously, USCIS paused processing of immigration benefits—including work authorizations, green cards, naturalization, and family sponsorships—for nationals of 19 designated "high-risk" countries. The administration also ordered a comprehensive re-review of all immigration applications approved since January 20, 2021, for nationals of those countries, potentially requiring new interviews to assess national security and public safety threats.
• USCIS cancels naturalization ceremonies for individuals on travel ban list — Reports indicate that naturalization ceremonies for people on the US travel ban list are being canceled as part of the broader immigration crackdown. The cancellations affect individuals who have already completed the naturalization process and were scheduled to receive citizenship certificates, leaving them in legal limbo and preventing them from completing their path to citizenship.
• USCIS halts immigration applications from 19 countries under travel restrictions — On December 3, 2025, US Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a policy memo imposing an immediate "adjudicative hold" on all asylum applications and ordering a comprehensive re-review of individuals from 19 "high-risk countries" who entered the US after January 20, 2021. The 19 countries—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—are already under partial or full US travel restrictions. The action follows the shooting of two national guard members in Washington DC by an Afghan national granted asylum earlier in 2025.
• Trump administration pauses immigration applications from 19 countries — In the same period as the Haiti TPS termination, the Trump administration moved to pause nearly all immigration applications from 19 "countries of concern," described as overwhelmingly non-European nations including Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, and Haiti. The pause affects applicants from these designated countries and represents a broader restriction on immigration processing.