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The U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday (January 14) that it will pause immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries, including Somalia, Nigeria, the Bahamas, Ethiopia, Jamaica, and Haiti, as part of a broader Trump administration effort to tighten legal immigration.
The pause is set to take effect January 21 while the State Department “reassesses immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits,” according to a department memo obtained by Fox News.
“The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people,” Tommy Pigott, the department’s principal deputy spokesperson, said in a statement.
Pigott added that immigrant visa processing from the affected countries would remain on hold during the review. Several of the countries have majority-Black populations, including Nigeria, Belize, the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Haiti. Somalia, one of the 75 countries included in the pause, has faced heightened scrutiny from Republicans and Trump administration officials in recent months over alleged fraud concerns.
While Trump campaigned on mass deportations and curbing illegal immigration, critics say his administration has also made legal immigration more difficult. New and higher fees have been imposed on some visa categories, including H-1B visas, and the State Department has said more than 100,000 visas have been revoked since Trump returned to office.
“This administration has proven itself to have the most anti-legal immigration agenda in American history,” David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, said in a statement.
Bier estimated the pause could block nearly half of all legal immigrants to the United States, turning away about 315,000 people over the next year.
The countries affected by the pause include: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
The State Department hasn't disclosed how long the pause would last or what changes might result from the review.
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