The Department of National Security (DHS) has temporarily suspended the procedures for the approval of the permanent residence, known as “Green Card” (Green Card), for certain immigrants, including refugees, with the aim of identifying fraud and eliminating risks for national security, reported media reported.
The Immigration and Citizenship Service (USCIS) “temporarily suspends” the approval of certain requests for status adjustment for permanent residence “waiting for additional evaluations and verification to be completed,” said the DHS in a statement cited by the CBS chain.
The suspension refers to 2 executive orders of President Donald Trump focused on examining the cases of immigrants who are granted permanent residence, in particular those who come from regions or countries identified as risky for the safety of the United States.
“The idea of this new regulation aims to determine whether asylum or shelter cases are valid. Unfortunately, during the last 4 or 5 years there were many cases of asylum that were fraudulent,” said Fernando Romo, immigration lawyer and advisor to the Association of Salvadorans of Los Angeles (Asosal).
One of the executive orders to which mention is related to the designation of Mexican drug posters and criminal gangs, such as the Aragua train, as foreign terrorist organizations.
In that sense, Romo believes that the new rule also seeks to “determine if the applicants have no criminal record that would make them ineophible for the residence.”
The lawyer warned that asylum seekers or refugees who have valid cases and “did not lied” in their applications should not worry, just consider that process times could be extended.
This is not the first time that Trump tries to put the magnifying glass on asylum and shelter cases, in his first term (2017-2021) implemented a similar measure that was revoked by his successor, Joe Biden (2021-2025).
On this occasion, the US executive has not clarified how he will perform the “Green Cards” reviews in question.
