Immigration applications for 19 nations put on hold

The Trump administration on Tuesday said it paused all immigration applications, including green card and US citizenship processing, filed by immigrants from 19 non-European countries, citing concerns over national security and public safety.

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The pause applies to people from 19 countries that were already subjected to a partial travel ban in June, placing further restrictions on immigration — a core feature of US President Donald Trump's political platform.

The list of countries includes Afghanistan and Somalia.

The official memorandum outlining the new policy cites the attack on US National Guard members in Washington last week, in which an Afghan man was arrested as a suspect. One member of the National Guard was killed, and another was critically wounded in the shooting.

Mr Trump has also stepped up rhetoric against Somalis in recent days, calling them “garbage” and saying “we don’t want them in our country.”