Caribbean immigration advocates and Caribbean American Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke are forcefully denouncing the Trump administration’s immediate and indefinite “administrative hold” on all immigration processing for applicants from 19 countries, including Haiti. The freeze, implemented in June 2025, targets countries previously placed under a travel ban.
In addition to Haiti, the affected nations include Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Libya, the Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen. All 19 countries face partial or full travel restrictions and have been labeled “of concern” by the administration.
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The New York Immigration Coalition, which represents more than 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups across the state, said the freeze blocks the processing of green card applications, citizenship requests, work authorization renewals, and asylum cases. The organization noted that the pause even halts pending citizenship ceremonies for legal permanent residents from the affected countries.
Murad Awawdeh, NYIC president and CEO, said the administration is using the recent Washington, DC shooting as a pretext for “a dangerous escalation of its attacks on immigrants.” He emphasized that many affected applicants have already undergone extensive vetting, sometimes for years, and now face further uncertainty and disruption.
“An indefinite pause is a ban,” Awawdeh said. “People at every stage of the immigration process have had their lives thrown into chaos.”
Congresswoman Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, called the freeze “an outrageous and discriminatory overreach” that scapegoats people from predominantly Black, brown, Muslim, and otherwise marginalized nations.
“We have seen this before with the Muslim Ban,” she said, adding that the policy is driven by “fearmongering and xenophobia” rather than evidence. Clarke argued that punishing entire nations for the acts of a single individual is unjust and undermines due process and national security principles.
“I stand firmly with immigrant families and all who came to America seeking liberty and opportunity,” she said. “Citizenship must never be suspended based on country of birth.”
On December 2, USCIS issued a policy memorandum ordering personnel to pause all asylum applications and place an administrative hold on pending immigration benefits for nationals of the 19 countries identified in Presidential Proclamation 10949. The memo requires a comprehensive review, new interviews, and possible re-interviews for affected applicants and mandates stringent national security vetting.
USCIS cited recent security incidents involving Afghan nationals, including the 2024 Election Day plot and a separate deadly attack in Washington, DC, as justification. The agency said the goal is to ensure that individuals do not pose threats to national security or public safety.
Human rights groups strongly dispute the rationale. Tanya Greene, U.S. director for Human Rights Watch, said the countries on the list share no meaningful connection other than being targeted for political reasons. The National Immigrant Justice Center also accused the administration of exploiting tragedy to impose “yet another ban on Black and brown migrants.”
Advocates argue that the freeze places countless people in limbo, jeopardizes due process, and fuels fear across immigrant communities.
The controversy intensified after ICE agents appeared to mobilize for a raid in lower Manhattan, prompting protests from NYIC, elected officials, and immigrant New Yorkers. Multiple protesters were arrested, and advocates accused the NYPD of helping federal agents despite sanctuary city policies meant to prevent such cooperation.
Awawdeh said the NYPD’s involvement “escalated tensions” and facilitated ICE’s “campaign of terror.” Immigration advocates demanded the release of the arrested protesters and called on the city to uphold sanctuary protections.
Natalia Aristizabal, deputy director of Make the Road New York, said New Yorkers will continue to defend immigrant communities across the city.
“The NYPD must stop clearing the way for ICE,” she said. “Our communities will not back down.”
