“The Trump administration is bringing an end to the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people,” Pigott said.
The State Department has ramped up efforts in recent months to restrict migration, particularly from nations the president has deemed a threat to national security. Last month, the administration expanded a full or partial travel ban on entry to the United States to citizens of 39 countries, a move that came after an Afghan immigrant was charged in the shooting in November of two National Guard members in D.C.
The administration also paused all asylum cases processed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, suspended processing of citizenship and green card applications for citizens of the initial 19 countries subject to the travel ban, and suspended all immigration-related requests from Afghan nationals.