US Citizenship and Immigration Services resumes asylum claims after halt

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Monday that it will restart processing certain asylum applications. This decision comes after a pause on all such claims, which was triggered by the shooting of two National Guard members by an asylum seeker. A spokesperson for USCIS stated, “USCIS has lifted the adjudicative hold for thoroughly screened asylum seekers from non-high-risk countries,” and emphasized that rigorous screening and vetting of immigrants will continue. However, USCIS did not specify which countries are classified as “non-high-risk.” The pause on asylum processing began in November when the Trump administration attributed the incident to failures in vetting during the Biden administration, which allowed an Afghan immigrant to enter the U.S. This immigrant was later accused of the shooting, resulting in one Guard member's death. The suspension of these services was part of a broader immigration crackdown initiated by President Donald Trump in response to the incident. Prior to the shooting, the Trump administration was already implementing a strict immigration policy, which included a travel ban on citizens from 12 countries in July. Following the shooting, this ban was extended to include seven additional countries.