The countries under review include Afghanistan, Myanmar, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen.
The decision comes in the wake of a shooting incident in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, when Afghan national Rahmanullah Lucknowal opened fire on members of the US National Guard. Two guardsmen were critically injured, and one later died at a hospital.
An initial investigation revealed that Lucknowal had previously worked as an agent for the CIA during the US-NATO mission in Afghanistan. He reportedly entered the United States in 2021 with authorization from the Biden administration following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.
Just hours after the attack, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) suspended all citizenship and permanent residency applications submitted by Afghan nationals, according to officials from the State Department.
Meanwhile, President Trump announced on Friday through a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, that the United States would no longer accept immigrants from “all Third World countries.” He did not provide further details on the policy changes.
Source: Reuters
