Trump administration pauses immigration cases for people from another 20 countries

The U.S. authorities has expanded a sweeping intermission connected ineligible migration applications to see those filed by radical from an further 20 countries that President Trump added to his "travel ban" proclamation this week, a U.S. authoritative with nonstop cognition told CBS News connected Thursday.

The move, which chiefly affects immigrants who hail from definite African and Asian countries, further escalates a wide-ranging crackdown connected ineligible migration expanded by the Trump medication this month. Many of those affected by the intermission are apt to beryllium ineligible immigrants who are presently successful the U.S. and are seeking to alteration their presumption oregon go citizens.

Earlier successful December, the Trump medication directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to completely freeze each migration petitions — including requests for American citizenship and imperishable residency — made by those already successful the U.S. who are nationals of the 19 countries helium banned oregon restricted question from successful June. That bid is colloquially known arsenic the "travel ban." 

It was 1 of respective migration restrictions the medication announced successful the aftermath of the Thanksgiving week shooting of 2 National Guard soldiers successful Washington, D.C., an onslaught allegedly carried retired by an Afghan national. The medication besides suspended each decisions for asylum cases handled by USCIS and the processing of each migration and visa requests by Afghans.

Earlier this week, Mr. Trump expanded that "travel ban" proclamation to see 20 further nations, afloat barring immigrants and travelers from 5 caller countries and partially restricting the introduction of radical from different 15 nations.

A U.S. authoritative who requested anonymity to sermon interior changes that person not been formally announced told CBS News connected Thursday that USCIS has expanded its suspension of migration cases to see the caller nationalities added to Mr. Trump's proclamation connected Tuesday.

The intermission volition present impact nationals of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria, the caller countries facing afloat question bans. It volition besides impact  those hailing from Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The past acceptable of countries look partial restrictions nether the latest proclamation.

Previously, the suspension of migration cases applied to nationals of Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Laos, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Yemen and Venezuela. In his latest proclamation, Mr. Trump imposed a afloat introduction prohibition connected citizens of Laos and Sierra Leone, which antecedently faced partial restrictions.

In a connection posed connected societal media precocious Thursday, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow appeared to notation the expansion.

"USCIS is conducting a broad reappraisal of anyone from anyplace who poses a menace to the U.S., including those identified successful the President's latest proclamation to reconstruct instrumentality and bid successful our nation's migration system," Edlow wrote.

Taken together, Mr. Trump's latest "travel ban" decree affects nationals of implicit 60% of the countries successful Africa and astir 20% of each nations crossed the globe.

Mr. Trump has argued the wide restrictions are designed to safeguard nationalist information and code concerns astir the quality to vet radical from the affected nations. But critics of his medication person denounced the argumentation arsenic discriminatory, since it chiefly applies to nations successful Africa and Asia.