The American dream of thousands of Cuban migrants and people of other nationalities received a hard blow this Tuesday with a new and drastic measure of the Trump Administration.
The current republican government suspended, with immediate effect, all immigration applications submitted by citizens of 19 countries, including Cubaas confirmed by officials from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
As reported The New Heraldthe measure stops asylum, permanent residence, naturalization and other key procedures processes.
The decision, which toughens Trump’s anti-immigrant policy, catalyzed after the attack on members of the National Guard by an Afghan citizen, It also affects those born in Venezuela and Haiti in America..
USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser said the goal is to ensure that “those who become citizens are the best of the best,” insisting that “citizenship is a privilege, not a right.”
Mass cancellations and confusion among applicants
Following the announcement, lawyers and migrant support organizations have reported the cancellation without prior notice by the Government of interviews and naturalization ceremonies.
Many immigrants who had been waiting for months or years learned of the suspension upon arriving at USCIS offices, without receiving guidance on how to proceed, according to press reports.
The pause It also impacts those who were undergoing procedures under humanitarian programsincluding thousands of Cubans, Venezuelans and Haitians.
The suspension also applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Libya and Somalia. Likewise to those of Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Turkmenistan.
All of these nations, like Cuba, Venezuela and Haiti, were classified as “countries at risk” under the Presidential Proclamation of June 4.
USCIS is committed to safeguarding the American people from public safety and national security threats the Biden administration rubberstamped into the country.
Nothing is off the table until every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible. pic.twitter.com/5XLF64HPDI
— USCIS (@USCIS) December 2, 2025
The internal memo: total review from 2021
According to an internal document cited by Strong Coffee, USCIS immediately froze all petitions, including asylum, residency, parole, and travel documents.
He memorandum describes a more ambitious measure: a “comprehensive review” of all benefits granted since January 20, 2021 for citizens of these 19 countries.
This includes entry permits, asylum approvals, adjustments of status and any immigration benefits granted in the last three years.
The document establishes that no applicant will be exempt from an interview. Even in cases where it was not normally required, authorities may require an additional appearance.
According to official information, USCIS will prioritize, within a period of 90 days, the preparation of lists for review, interviews and possible referrals to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE).
A direct blow for more than 700 thousand Cubans
For about 700 thousand Cubans who arrived under humanitarian parole, are in asylum processes or are seeking to validate their I-220A, the measure opens a period of deep uncertainty.
It is, according to Strong Coffeethe most extensive restriction applied by a US Government in decades, because it not only targets undocumented immigrants or people with criminal records, but also those who already have legal status or were on the way to obtaining it.
Trump’s decision comes after the shooting of two members of the National Guard in Washington, attributed to an Afghan citizen with asylum, an event that triggered a wave of tightening in immigration policy.
To this stoppage of immigration applications and the exhaustive review of all green cards granted to citizens of the 19 mentioned countries, also the suspension of all asylum applications is added, regardless of nationalityuntil completing a comprehensive evaluation.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow cited by cnnassured that “nothing is ruled out until all foreigners are investigated and evaluated at the highest possible level.”
For her part, the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem recommended expanding the list of restricted countrieswhich, if granted, would also paralyze the processes of other nationalities and would even tighten the Government’s siege on immigration.
Additionally, registration for the DV-2027 Diversity Visa Lottery was postponed while changes are introduced that could include additional fees and greater controls.
