Trump Admin Announces New Immigration Restrictions: What to Know

A shooting occurred on Nov. 26 in Washington, during which two servicemembers of the National Guard were allegedly ambushed by an Afghan national near the White House. One of those servicemembers, Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, has died of her injuries.

The accused assailant, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was admitted into the United States for humanitarian relief after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.

The incident prompted President Donald Trump to call for new restrictions on legal immigration to the United States, which were followed by more specific announcements by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) about steps it would take. The measures could affect millions of foreign nationals who are lawfully present in the United States and who may have their lawful status reviewed, revoked, or otherwise affected.

Here is what has been announced, the specific steps that USCIS is taking, and what may follow from these efforts.

What Trump Said

Immediately after the shooting, the president delivered remarks to the nation in a videotaped message, in which he called for a review of the status of Afghan nationals granted entry to the United States during President Joe Biden’s administration and for more general efforts against allegedly “anti-American” foreign nationals.

“We must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden,” Trump said.

“We must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here, or [does not] add benefit to our country. If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them.”

Later, Trump wrote a lengthy post on his social media platform, Truth Social, in which he criticized the state of U.S. legal immigration more broadly, specifically the asylum system, referencing Somali immigrants in Minneapolis.

“The official United States Foreign population stands at 53 million people (Census), most of which are on welfare, from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels. They and their children are supported through massive payments from Patriotic American Citizens,” Trump wrote.

“[The] refugee burden is the leading cause of social dysfunction in America, something that did not exist after World War II … As an example, hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia are completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota. Somalian gangs are roving the streets looking for ‘prey’ as our wonderful people stay locked in their apartments and houses hoping against hope that they will be left alone.”

In terms of specific policy steps, Trump wrote that he would “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover.” He also said that he would “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States … end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of [the United States], denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”

What Is to Be Done

So far, two immigration policy steps have been announced by the Trump administration in the wake of the shooting.

On Nov. 28, USCIS announced that it would stop processing all asylum requests until further notice, which affects nearly 1.4 million people who have filed “affirmative” asylum applications with USCIS. “Affirmative” asylum means that an alien is requesting asylum in a non-punitive setting and not in a deportation proceeding to avoid removal from the country.

“USCIS has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible. The safety of the American people always comes first,” the director of USCIS, Joseph B. Edlow, wrote on social media.

Another step has been to enhance the review of applicants from 19 “high-risk” countries for immigration benefits. Edlow announced this policy update on Nov. 27, one day after the shooting.

“Effective immediately, I am issuing new policy guidance that authorizes USCIS officers to consider country-specific factors as significant negative factors when reviewing immigration requests,” Edlow wrote in a statement on the agency’s website.

The actual effect of the new policy guidance is limited. It directs that any “country-specific factors” that USCIS already considers when assessing immigration petitions from nationals of these countries be regarded as “negative factors” from the outset. In essence, an officer adjudicating a request for status may have more leeway to deny a petition on those grounds without providing an exhaustive justification.

The entry of nationals from these 19 countries was already suspended and restricted by Trump via Presidential Proclamation 10949 on June 4. The proclamation means that nationals of 12 countries—Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen—cannot generally enter the United States, and the nationals of seven countries—Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela—are restricted from obtaining non-immigrant visas for doing so.

The proclamation, however, did not apply to nationals of these countries who are already in the United States for other valid reasons. Edlow’s directive will affect them should they seek to apply for discretionary benefits that USCIS normally issues to grant people status, such as adjustment of status from being a non-immigrant to a lawful permanent resident, change of non-immigrant status from one class of admission to another, and extensions of non-immigrant status.

It is unclear how many foreign nationals from these 19 countries are lawfully present in the United States and how many have pending applications or petitions before USCIS. The directive does not mean that such people will necessarily be denied immigration benefits, and any denials can be appealed administratively and through federal courts.

Debates on Legal Immigration Reform

Conservatives, both generally and in the Trump administration, have long argued for more restrictions on legal immigration.

“We have got to become a common community again. And you can’t do that when you have such high numbers of immigration,” Vice President J.D. Vance said during a public event on Oct. 29.

The shooting on Nov. 26 has spurred calls for more screening or restrictions for legal immigration. It remains unclear whether or not the Trump administration will pursue them.

Trump has voiced nuanced views on the subject, particularly given his recent support for H-1B status issuances to foreign nationals, which have been frequently used by major U.S. tech companies.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (R-Ohio) posted on social media on Dec. 26, 2024: “Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long. … I know *multiple* sets of immigrant parents in the 90s who actively limited how much their kids could watch those TV shows precisely because they promoted mediocrity … and their kids went on to become wildly successful STEM graduates.”