The Trump Administration suspends asylum and immigration benefits for citizens of 19 countries, including Cuba and Venezuela

In a clear tightening of immigration policy, the Trump administration ordered an immediate pause on all immigration applications filed by citizens of the 19 countries included in the mid-year travel ban list. This move affects both initial filings and advanced processing for green cards or U.S. citizenship.

The New York Times was the first to report the decision, which marks another tightening of legal immigration pathways. However, on Tuesday it became clear that the measure is no longer merely an informal directive: it has been formalized in an internal USCIS memorandum, dated December 2 and titled Policy Memorandum PM-602-0192, which instructs officers to freeze all pending asylum applications —including Form I-589— and suspend immigration benefits requested by citizens of countries classified as “high-risk.”

According to the New York media, the order contemplates applicants from countries in Africa, the Middle East, Eurasia, Central Asia, South America and the Caribbean, including Iran, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, Haiti, Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya, Chad, Cuba, Venezuela, among others.

The memorandum, signed by USCIS leadership, also orders a full re-review of benefits already approved for citizens of those countries, mandates interviews or re-interviews without exception, and calls for a reassessment of individuals who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021, a date that coincides with the beginning of the Biden Administration.

All of these countries had already been included in the list of travel restrictions signed by President Donald Trump in June. 

A USCIS spokesman, Matthew Tragesser, confirmed the move to the newspaper and argued that the goal is to strengthen eligibility criteria for entering the country and, subsequently, for green cards and, eventually, citizenship.

"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," the official said, who added that the agency "will take no chances when the future of our nation is at stake."

The decision comes at a heated political and social moment, after authorities identified Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan who was granted asylum in April, as a suspect in the attack on two National Guard members in Washington last week.

According to The New York Times, this event accelerated a series of broader changes planned by the Trump administration, including a review of previously granted green cards, a pause in asylum decisions and a reevaluation of immigration concessions issued during the Biden administration.

The impact of the measure is already reflected in practice. Immigration lawyers reported the cancellation of interviews, naturalization ceremonies and appointments scheduled months or years ago, with applicants dismayed and abruptly informed upon arrival at offices.

"Everything is being put on hold. It is just like a traffic jam, and it is just going to get worse and worse and worse," Texas attorney Ana Maria Schwartz told the NYT.

The measure, according to experts, will undoubtedly affect case management, creating problems in a system that already has significant backlogs. According to previous estimates, more than 1.5 million asylum applications were pending as of last week.

Although the memorandum defines the scope of the suspension, USCIS has not yet disclosed how many applicants will be affected or when the ordered review will conclude.