New York, NY—The Trump administration further broadened its expanded travel ban by imposing an indefinite “hold” on legal immigration processing for people from 20 additional countries that were added to its travel ban proclamation earlier this week.
This hold may impact petitions for citizenship and naturalization, work permits, spousal petitions, status adjustments, parole, and more immigration benefits issued by USCIS. It also halts the completion of citizenship ceremonies for legal U.S. permanent residents from those 39 countries, delaying their path to becoming naturalized American citizens. Earlier in the week, the Trump Administration brought legal immigration for current petitioners from 39 countries and Palestine to a halt, and has barred future immigrant and non-immigrant visa petitions indefinitely.
Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition:
“This indefinite ban cruelly shuts out people who have followed every rule and diligently followed the processes for getting green cards, receiving work permits, and becoming new citizens. It is driven by discrimination against applicants from African- and Muslim-majority countries and a callous indifference to those fleeing war-torn regions. The updated policy, along with the others already announced, ensures the Trump Administration will have a growing population of those at risk of being funneled into the administration’s deportation machine, enriching private companies that profit from the prison-industrial complex. American taxpayers are left footing the bill for the rising costs of detention, while their social services and access to affordable healthcare are being cut. Congress must condemn these actions and demand that the Trump administration reverse course."