The U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services said on Tuesday that it was halting all immigration applications and benefits requests from “high-risk countries” and conducting a “comprehensive” review of immigrants from those countries since Jan. 20, 2021, and potentially earlier.
The countries, which were first listed in an executive order that U.S. President Donald Trump issued in June, include Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
“Recently, the United States has seen what a lack of screening, vetting and prioritizing expedient adjudications can do to the American people,” the agency, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, stated.
“An Afghan national, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, planned a terrorist attack in the United States on Election Day 2024. Tawhedi pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring and attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS),” it said.
“In another instance, an Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is suspected of planning and executing a terrorist attack in Washington, D.C. against two National Guard members, one who was killed and another who remains critically injured,” it added.
