US Citizenship and Immigration Services resumes asylum claims after halt

It does not specify the countries considered "non-high-risk”

A drone view of machinery and workers during the construction of a new section of the border wall in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on the US-Mexico border, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Nov 18, 2025. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo

The Trump administration will resume processing some asylum applications after it halted all such claims following the shooting of two National Guard members by an asylum seeker, US Citizenship and Immigration Services said on Monday.

"USCIS has lifted the adjudicative hold for thoroughly screened asylum seekers from non-high-risk countries," an agency spokesperson said, adding that maximum screening and vetting for immigrants will continue.

USCIS did not say which countries were considered "non-high-risk."

Washington's halt of asylum proceedings in November came after the Trump administration blamed Biden-era vetting failures for the admission of an Afghan immigrant accused of shooting the National Guard members - one of whom later died.

The suspended services were part of an immigration crackdown ordered by President Donald Trump in response to the attack.

The Trump administration was already carrying out an aggressive immigration campaign before the shooting. In July, the US imposed a travel ban on citizens from 12 countries. That ban was expanded after the shooting to include seven more countries.