Overview
- The Department of Homeland Security directed USCIS to pause all immigration applications from nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and 16 other designated countries.
- The order also suspended all pending asylum claims regardless of applicants’ countries of origin.
- Officials issued the directive following the fatal shooting of two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., allegedly by an Afghan man.
- Rep. María Elvira Salazar called the freeze unfair and un-American, arguing it punishes law-abiding immigrants who followed legal processes.
- Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and Carlos Gimenez backed tougher vetting and blamed the previous administration’s policies, as attorneys report canceled naturalization ceremonies and mounting fear in South Florida.