U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on Monday that it will resume processing certain asylum applications that had been placed on hold after a fatal shooting involving an asylum seeker and two members of the National Guard.
Agency statement - "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. The statement did not specify which countries are categorized as "non-high-risk."
Background on the pause - The suspension of all asylum proceedings began in November. The pause followed an incident in which an asylum seeker was accused of shooting two National Guard members; one of the guards later died. Washington officials attributed the incident to vetting failures during the prior administration and cited that as a factor in ordering the halt.
Policy context - The temporary suspension formed part of a broader immigration crackdown directed by President Donald Trump in direct response to the attack on the Guard members. Prior to the November pause, the administration had already implemented aggressive immigration measures. In July, a U.S. travel ban was imposed on citizens from 12 countries; that restriction was expanded after the shooting to add seven additional countries to the list.
What remains unclear - USCIS has emphasized that intense screening and vetting processes will continue for immigrants who are processed, but it has not released details about the criteria used to determine which countries are treated as "non-high-risk." The precise number of asylum claims now eligible for resumed adjudication was also not provided.
The agency's move restarts adjudication for some applicants while preserving the heightened scrutiny that officials say is necessary in the wake of the shooting and the subsequent policy response.