Trump administration pauses some green card applications as part of aggressive vetting effort
Washington — The Trump administration has quietly paused the processing of green card applications filed by certain individuals, including approved refugees, as part of a broader effort to more aggressively vet immigrants, multiple sources familiar with the move told CBS News.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, recently directed officials to suspend processing of requests for legal permanent residency submitted by immigrants granted refugee or asylum status, according to the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss an action that has not been publicly reported.
The move will, for the time being, place in legal limbo immigrants who were granted refuge in the U.S. because they proved they could be persecuted in their home countries.
Refugees are granted entry into the U.S. after an overseas and exhaustive process of security checks, medical screenings and interviews that typically takes years to complete. Asylees are foreigners in the U.S. who are granted protection by immigration judges or asylum officers. Both populations have to prove they could face persecution because of certain characteristics, such as their political views, race or religion.
The Trump administration has targeted both congressionally enacted programs, suspending the refugee process and closing the asylum system at the U.S.-Mexico border through executive orders that are currently facing federal court challenges.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed CBS News' reporting, saying the green card processing pause is needed to comply with two executive actions issued by President Trump, including one that questioned immigration vetting procedures under the Biden administration.
"USCIS is placing a temporary pause on finalizing certain Adjustment of Status applications pending the completion of additional screening and vetting to identify potential fraud, public safety, or national security concerns, in alignment" with Mr. Trump's executive actions, DHS said in the statement. "Adjustment of status" is the official name of the green card process.
In one of the presidential proclamations cited by officials, Mr. Trump instructed federal agencies to "vet and screen to the maximum degree possible all aliens who intend to be admitted, enter, or are already inside the United States."
The other executive order cited by officials paved the way for the State Department to designate Mexican cartels and gangs like Tren de Aragua as foreign terrorist organizations.
The pause on some green card applications is the latest action taken by the Trump administration to restrict, tighten and, in some cases, suspend legal immigration procedures on the basis of concerns about national security and fraud.
Last month, the administration, citing vetting and fraud concerns, paused all immigration applications filed by immigrants from Latin America and Ukraine who arrived in the U.S. under two Biden-era programs that relied on an authority known as humanitarian parole. The government did not announce that move publicly, but CBS News disclosed it on Feb. 19.
The administration said last week it would give over half a million migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who came to the U.S. under one of the programs 30 days to self-deport or face arrest and deportation. Trump officials have claimed the migrants were "loosely vetted" by the Biden administration and noted the program was plagued by fraud concerns.
Trump administration officials have also announced plans to more heavily scrutinize and review the social media accounts of immigrants applying for legal status, including U.S. citizenship, green cards and asylum. USCIS said the vetting of social media accounts is required for "the enhanced identity verification, vetting and national security screening."
The agency has long reviewed the social media information of immigrants applying for certain immigration benefits, but the new plan would require those applicants to submit their social media accounts, or handles, to the government for review.
