Trump's administration halts all immigration applications from non-European countries

Trump's administration on Tuesday, December 2, 2025 announced that all immigration applications from 19 non-European countries were put on hold, citing concerns over national security and public safety.

The pause applies to people from non-European countries that were already subjected to a partial travel ban in June 2025, placing further restrictions on immigration.

The list of countries targeted, mainly focusing on Somalia, includes Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Yemen, were subjected to the most severe immigration restrictions in June 2025, including a full suspension on entries with a few exceptions.

According to US media reports, President Donald Trump's administration has instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE to target undocumented Somali immigrants in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.

While addressing a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, Trump expressed, "I don't want them in our country, I'll be honest with you,OK.Somebody will say, 'Oh, that's not politically correct.' I don't care. I don't want them in our country," reports Euro News.

Other countries subjected to partial restrictions include Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

As reported by the New York Times, the decision could affect more than 1.5 million people who had asylum applications pending and more than 50,000 who received asylum grants under the Biden administration.

The U.S. President is also considering expanding the travel ban to more than 30 countries.

The ban puts a stop to all immigration-related activities, including a temporary suspension on the completion of citizenship ceremonies involving legal permanent residents of the 19 countries.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser said, “The Trump administration is making every effort to ensure individuals becoming citizens are the best of the best. US citizenship is a privilege, not a right.”

“America first! -We will take no chances when the future of our nation is at stake.”

Following this move, the Department of Homeland Security informs that anyone attempting to migrate to the US will need to be vetted.

“This memorandum mandates that all countries 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,” states DHS.

“It also allows DHS to potentially block applicants using a broad definition of inadmissibility or ineligibility,” it added.

Since returning to office in January 2025, the U.S. President has aggressively prioritized immigration enforcement, sending federal agents to major US cities and turning away asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border.

Trump’s administration has frequently highlighted the deportation push but until now has put less emphasis on efforts to reshape legal immigration

Trump announced on Thursday in a post on Truth Social that he will “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover.”

The U.S. President quoted that “Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation,” as he vowed to end all federal benefits for noncitizens, denaturalize migrants who undermine the US, and deport any foreign nationals deemed a security risk or non-compatible with Western Civilization.

Additionally, the official memorandum outlining the new policy cites the attack on U.S. National Guard members in Washington last week, in which an Afghan immigrant has been arrested as a suspect and one member of the National Guard was killed and another was critically wounded in the shooting.

It also cited several recent crimes suspected to have been committed by immigrants.