US cancels citizenship ceremonies for migrants from journey ban international locations

The US has halted the processing of all immigration functions linked to 19 international locations already topic to a journey ban, based on an inner official memo seen by BBC associate CBS News.

Immigration brokers have been informed to “stop final adjudication on all cases”, and pause naturalisation ceremonies for migrants on the cusp of gaining citizenship.

It comes amid experiences that Donald Trump is contemplating increasing a June order proscribing journey from 19 international locations to 30.

It is the newest tightening of immigration guidelines after final week’s taking pictures in Washington DC, which left one National Guard soldier lifeless and one other in a vital situation.

The suspect is an Afghan nationwide dwelling within the US.

On 4 June, the White House recognized 19 international locations – predominantly in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean – which might face full or partial immigration restrictions.

The steering on Tuesday was issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which final week additionally halted all asylum selections, and stated it will re-examine inexperienced card visas issued to migrants from the US from the journey ban nations.

The memo, which makes clear the sweeping restrictions being imposed, says: “This hold includes all form types and making any final decisions (approvals, denials) as well as completing any oath ceremonies.”

Matthew Tragesser, a spokesman for UCSIS, confirmed the pause to the New York Times. He stated: “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.”

Immigration legal professionals say that some purchasers have had citizenship hearings cancelled this week, together with for migrants coming from Venezuela, Iran, and Afghanistan, based on ABC News.

The naturalisation ceremony is the fruits of as much as 5 years of utility processing. It usually options crowds waving miniature American flags as new residents learn their oath of allegiance to the United States.

The newest transfer from the White House comes as Trump more and more blames migrants and refugees for inflicting what he phrases the US’s “social dysfunction”.

The Trump administration has intensified its immigration crackdown after guardsmen Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, significantly injured within the taking pictures final Wednesday within the nationwide capital.

The suspect who has been arrested is initially from Afghanistan, and had travelled to the US below a programme that supplied particular protections to Afghans who had labored with US forces earlier than the return to energy of the Taliban.