Washington [US], December 17: The US continues to tighten its immigration policies following an incident in which an Afghan immigrant opened fire on two members of the National Guard.
The Washington Post reported on December 17 that US President Donald Trump has added 20 more countries to the list of those completely or partially banned from entering the country , bringing the total to 39.
The White House made this announcement weeks after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she had recommended the president expand the list, amid US efforts to further restrict immigration after an Afghan immigrant was accused of shooting two National Guard soldiers last month.
The additional countries facing a complete ban are Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria. Furthermore, 14 other countries that were previously subject to partial entry bans now face a complete ban, the White House said.
In the new list, countries facing partial bans include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Ivory Coast, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The White House said the move targets countries that have "demonstrated serious, persistent, and systemic shortcomings in screening, verifying, and sharing information."
President Trump has swiftly pushed for broad policy changes aimed at blocking or slowing legal immigration channels since suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal was arrested and charged for shooting two National Guard soldiers patrolling outside a subway station near the White House on November 26.
This suspect was resettled in the United States in 2021 after assisting in CIA-led counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan.
Since the aforementioned shooting, the U.S. has suspended all asylum applications processed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, halted the processing of citizenship applications and green card issuance for citizens of the 19 countries initially subject to the travel ban, and suspended all immigration-related requests from Afghan citizens.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
