The Donald Trump administration has indefinitely suspended immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries, marking one of its most expansive efforts yet to restrict legal pathways to the United States.
The freeze, which takes effect on 21 January, targets applicants officials deem likely to become a “public charge” – who they describe as people who may rely on government benefits for basic needs.
The state department wrote on social media that it “will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates”.
The Guardian obtained a state department cable with the full list of countries affected.
“The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the statement continued. “We are working to ensure the generosity of the American people will no longer be abused.”
The Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration has intensified to record levels, even as nationwide protests over the killing of Renee Good have drawn attention to law enforcement practices. The state department says it revoked more than 100,000 visas since Trump returned to office, while the homeland security department reported last month that more than 605,000 people have been deported, while an additional 2.5 million left the country on their own.
The administration has particularly focused on Somali Americans following fraud allegations and federal investigations in Minnesota. Trump referred to the Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar as “garbage” during a cabinet meeting last month and said he did not want Somalis in the US and they should “go back to where they came from”.
The pause follows Trump’s December expansion of travel bans to 39 countries, suspension of asylum processing, and halting of citizenship and green card applications for citizens of countries already subject to restrictions.
Research contradicts administration claims about immigrant welfare use. In February 2025, the libertarian Cato Institute published a paper showing that native-born Americans consumed, on an average per capita basis, more welfare and entitlement benefits than all immigrants. The study found immigrants consumed 21% fewer welfare and entitlement benefits than native-born Americans on a per capita basis in 2022.
Migration policy experts also warned the move will have far-reaching consequences beyond those directly affected by visa denials.
“The likely result will be that many immigrant families will be afraid to access any public benefits for which a household member is eligible, forgoing supports in times of need to preserve future immigration prospects,” Julia Gelatt, associate director of the US immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute, wrote in an analysis posted on Wednesday.
During a State of the Union address during his first term, Trump held the position that he supports legal immigration because immigrants “enrich our nation and strengthen our society in countless ways”. He went on to say in the same speech that he wanted people to enter the US “in the largest numbers ever, but they have to come in legally”.
