Nigeria is among 39 countries that won’t benefit from a relaxation of the crackdown on asylum, which was imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, CBS News reports.

The crackdown was imposed following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C, allegedly by an Afghan man who had been granted asylum in 2025.

Following the death of one of the victims in November 2025, a pause on asylum cases was imposed by the U.S to address national security.

This has now been relaxed, except for those filed by nationals from countries affected by a travel ban or steep immigration restrictions stemming from a previous proclamation by President Trump.

Trump, in December 2025, announced that accounting for the foreign policy, national security, and counterterrorism objectives of the United States, “I have determined to partially restrict and limit the entry of nationals of the following 15 countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d ‘Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. These restrictions distinguish between, but apply to both, the entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants.”

In a statement to CBS News on Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed “USCIS has lifted the adjudicative hold for thoroughly screened asylum seekers from non-high-risk countries.”

“This move allows resources to focus on continued rigorous national security and public safety vetting for higher-risk cases,” DHS said, adding that the administration’s “maximum screening and vetting for ALL aliens continues unabated.”

The Trump administration has also frozen all other legal immigration applications filed by nationals of the 39 nations listed on the “travel ban,” including requests for work permits, green cards and even American citizenship. That suspension, which was also enacted after the shooting of the National Guard soldiers in Washington, remains in place.

The pause in asylum and other immigration cases is one of several policies the second Trump administration has rolled out to tighten the legal U.S. immigration system. The administration has also sought to restrict work permits for asylum-seekers and to reexamine the cases of legal refugees admitted under the Biden administration.

Trump administration officials have said their policies are designed to combat immigration fraud and national security concerns, and bolster vetting procedures they believe became too lax under the Biden administration. Pro-immigration advocates, meanwhile, have accused the administration of punishing legal immigrants who are complying with immigration rules. (Guardian)