Overview
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration is studying a total entry ban covering more than 30 additional countries but did not name them.
- U.S. press reports a State Department draft evaluating an expansion to 30–36 nations, with the full list yet to be released.
- USCIS has paused decisions on permanent residency applications for citizens of 19 specified nationalities following late‑November guidance confirmed by Reuters.
- The push accelerated after a Washington, D.C., attack involving an Afghan national resettled in 2021, and President Trump subsequently vowed to permanently halt migration from unspecified “third world” countries.
- Officials frame the vetting reviews as technical security measures affecting immigrants and temporary visitors, while critics say the plan reflects ideological hardening with diplomatic costs.