Lawmakers decry Trump’s immigration halt for 19 countries: ‘scapegoating entire nationalities’

Crackdown on applications from countries also under travel restrictions comes after shooting of two national guards

Immigration groups and lawmakers are sharply criticizing Donald Trump's latest move to halt immigration applications from 19 countries already under US travel restrictions, a decision that comes amid reports that naturalization ceremonies for people on the travel ban list are also being canceled.

On Tuesday US Citizenship and Immigration Services posted a policy memo that announced an immediate adjudicative hold" on all asylum applications regardless of the alien's country of nationality", as well as a review of individuals from high-risk countries" who entered the US following Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021.