Trump's sweeping changes to US immigration policy here's what to know

"Donald Trump is seizing on the shooting of two national guard members, allegedly by an Afghan man, to press his immigration crackdown still farther. In the aftermath of the attack, which left guard member Sarah Beckstrom dead and colleague Andrew Wolfe in critical condition, Trump directed US Citizenship and Immigration Services to pause all pending asylum applications. USCIS followed up that announcement with more seismic shifts to immigration policy. This is how the White House is reshaping the process for requesting asylum, green cards and citizenship."

"Tuesdsay's memo leads with a change that USCIS director Joseph Edlow first announced last week in a tweet: the agency is pausing consideration of the roughly 1.5 million asylum applications before it. The pause does not appear to apply to the immigration courts, where most asylum cases are currently playing out. The change marks a sharp reversal for the Trump administration, which had worked at a breakneck pace to clear the asylum backlog as quickly as possible."

"The memo also directs USCIS to pause consideration of a broad range of immigration benefits which appeared to include work authorizations, green cards, naturalization and sponsoring family members for citizens or nationals of 19 specific countries that the administration previously classified as high-risk. That change has sweeping implications, appearing to block migrants from those countries from applying for work authorizations, green cards, naturalization or sponsor visas for family members."

President Trump ordered US Citizenship and Immigration Services to pause consideration of approximately 1.5 million pending asylum applications following a shooting that killed National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom and left Andrew Wolfe critically injured. USCIS director Joseph Edlow had first signaled the pause in a tweet. The agency also directed a pause on a broad range of immigration benefits for citizens or nationals of 19 designated high-risk countries, affecting work authorizations, green cards, naturalization, and family sponsorships. The pause appears not to apply to immigration courts. Previously published USCIS data showed a sharp increase in completed asylum cases and denials while the backlog had grown since 2021.

Read at www.theguardian.com