Calls for Deportations Surge as Trump Blocks Immigration From Nearly 20 Nations

President Donald Trump has ordered an immediate freeze on immigration applications from nineteen countries his administration now labels as high-risk, a sweeping move triggered by the fatal shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington. The suspect, a twenty-nine-year-old Afghan national who had received asylum in the United States and cooperated with the intelligence community, became the catalyst for a fresh round of aggressive immigration restrictions.

A Broad Suspension Framed as a National Security Measure

According to internal summaries cited by The Washington Post, officials argue that the shooting exposed vulnerabilities in the vetting system. The administration's directive halts all immigration processing from nations including Afghanistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, and Cuba, among others. Senior officials characterize the move as a temporary but necessary safeguard while agencies reassess risks associated with applicants from these countries.

Additional reporting from Axios indicates that the measure is part of a coordinated recalibration of immigration rules that began shortly after the suspect in the Washington shooting was identified. The decision represents one of the broadest restrictions enacted since the beginning of Trump's second term.

Trump's Confrontational Rhetoric Toward Somali Migrants

Even as the new policy took effect, Donald Trump intensified his attacks on Somali immigrants, a community he has targeted repeatedly over the past month. During a cabinet meeting, he dismissed Somali newcomers as people who "only complain,” insisting he did not want them in the country. His comments came as immigration officers launched a new operation against Somali nationals in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

"Somali migrants contribute nothing and should return to their country,” Trump said during the meeting, according to reports in The New York Times.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has sharply narrowed refugee admissions, shutting the door to most global asylum seekers and reserving limited slots primarily for white South Africans, a shift critics say reflects ideological preferences rather than security concerns.

Local Leaders Defend Minnesota's Somali Community

In Minnesota, where roughly eighty thousand Somali Americans reside, local leadership moved quickly to counter the president's remarks. Officials in Minneapolis said they had received no indication that major federal raids were imminent despite Trump's rhetoric. Mayor Jacob Frey stressed that the city would support its Somali residents regardless of federal actions.

"The Somali community has been a cultural and economic pillar of this region for decades, and most are U. S. citizens,” said Jacob Frey. "Any immigration sweep risks detaining people who are here legally.”

Community leaders expressed concern that national political pressure could lead to panic, even in the absence of concrete enforcement plans. For many Somali families who have lived in the United States for generations, the renewed hostility has revived fears reminiscent of earlier crackdowns.

Deportation Flights to Venezuela Continue Despite Political Friction

Meanwhile, deportation flights to Venezuela remain active, even as Trump recently declared the country's airspace effectively closed. The government of President Nicolás Maduro confirmed that the United States had requested the continuation of the biweekly flights, reversing earlier claims that Washington had halted them without consultation.

More than thirteen thousand Venezuelan nationals have been returned this year through charter flights operated by U. S. contractors and Venezuela's state airline. Flights resumed on November 28, despite ongoing tensions and recent U. S. military strikes on vessels suspected of narcotics trafficking in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean waters.