War in Afghanistan

Jan. 14 (UPI) — The Trump administration has paused immigrant visa-processing services for citizens of 75 nations due to a likelihood that they will need public support.

The decision does not affect tourist, business, student, temporary work, exchange visitor, medical treatment, and crew and transit visas, officials said.

The State Department issued a memo on Wednesday saying it indefinitely will pause the immigrant visa processing Jan. 21 while assessing how the processing is done.

“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates,” the department said in a post on X.

“The freeze will remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people.”

The visa-processing pause comes a day after Department of Homeland Services Sec. Kristin Noem said conditions in Somalia have improved to such an extent that the country no longer qualifies for temporary protected status, which ends for Somalian migrants March 17.

“Allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interests,” Noem said. “We are putting Americans first.”

Somali nationals who voluntarily leave the United States will be given a free plane ticket and $1,000.

The State Department also paused the processing of asylum cases by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and halted green card and citizenship applications for citizens of 19 initial nations, most of which are located in Africa.

The processing changes come amid reports of widespread fraud in Minnesota and other states in which federal and state programs are targeted, often by members of ethnic communities from specific countries, such as Somalia.

The Trump administration has said many migrants are draining taxpayer dollars and state and federal resources, including those engaged in fraud.

The administration has targeted Minnesota with increased immigration law enforcement and federal investigations of alleged fraud via 14 state-run aid programs for child care, child nutrition, autism, housing assistance and more.

Somalians, some of whom are U.S. citizens, account for 82 of 92 defendants in active investigations in Minnesota, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for that state.

The Department of Justice also is investigating claims of fraud in Ohio, California and other states.

The investigations and halting visa processing likely will cause many immigrant families to hesitate when considering filing for public assistance, Migration Policy Institute Associate Director Julia Gelatt said on Wednesday.

The State Department said the 75 nations subject to the visa-processing halt are: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia and Cameroon.

Also, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, and Lebanon.

Also, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

Jan. 2 (UPI) — Travel restrictions for 20 more nations and locales took effect on Thursday in accordance with President Donald Trump‘s Dec. 16 order expanding travel restrictions to 39 nations.

President Donald Trump has restricted travel from a total of 39 nations and entities due to deficiencies in their respective screening and vetting processes that make it difficult to protect the United States against public safety and national security threats.

“The United States government has identified additional countries that are unable to meet basic criteria for identifying their nationals and residents who may pose national security and public safety risks, or for sharing necessary information with the United States,” U.S. Customs and Immigration Services officials announced on Thursday.

“It is paramount that the United States government ensure aliens in the United States do not intend to threaten its citizens or undermine or destabilize its culture, government, institutions, or founding principles,” USCIS added.

“Entry will not be granted to aliens who advocate for, aid or support designated foreign terrorists or other threats to our national security or public safety.”

A dozen high-risk nations identified by the White House are Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, and their citizens are fully restricted from traveling to the United States.

Another five nations, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria, plus anyone holding travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority, also are subject to full restrictions on U.S. travel.

Full restrictions also are in effect for travelers from Laos and Sierra Leone, which previously were subjected to partial restrictions.

Prior to the Dec. 16 order, 19 nations were subject to travel restrictions, but the president added the 19 additional nations and the Palestinian Authority amid ongoing violence and recent revelations of fraud.

Some exceptions to the travel bans are allowed for diplomats and athletes competing on teams that are participating in the Olympics, FIFA World Cup and other events.

Dec. 29 (UPI) — The United States has pledged to contribute $2 billion to U.N. humanitarian efforts, slashing its funding to about one-fifth of its average annual financial commitment over the past decade, the U.S. State Department announced Monday.

The memorandum of understanding makes good on President Donald Trump‘s promises to dramatically reduce the amount of the United States’ foreign aid and save taxpayers’ money.

“The United States remains the most generous nation in the world for lifesaving humanitarian assistance — but under @POTUS’s leadership taxpayer dollars will never fund waste, anti-Americanism, or inefficiency,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X.

“This new model will better share the burden of U.N. humanitarian work with other developed countries and will require the U.N. to cut bloat, remove duplication, and commit to powerful new impact, accountability and oversight mechanisms.”

In addition to reducing funding, the agreement narrows what countries and projects benefit from the U.S. aid. The $2 billion will go into a fund administered by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Among the areas not receiving any of the U.S. funding are Gaza, Yemen and Afghanistan.

“These agreements will focus funding on hyper-prioritized life-saving activities; provide for powerful new impact, accountability, and oversight mechanisms; enhance the efficiency and flexibility of humanitarian operations; and better share the burden of humanitarian work across major donors,” a release from the U.S. State Department said.

Tom Fletcher, the U.N. under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs and coordinator for Emergency Relief, offered his thanks to the United States for the commitment as “a powerful act of leadership and generosity that will help save millions of lives.”

“At a moment of immense global strain, the United States is demonstrating that it is a humanitarian superpower, offering hope to people who have lost everything.”

The newly announced funding, though, is a dramatic decrease from annual U.S. contributions over the past decade — from $6.5 billion in 2017 to a high of $17.25 billion in 2022. The average yearly contribution over the decade ending in 2024 was around $10 billion, five times the size of the funding announced Monday, according to data on the OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service.

This reduction in U.S. aid comes weeks after the United Nations launched an appeal to raise $33 billion to support operations for 2026. OCHA said the total would provide aid to 135 million people in 23 countries, and six projects serving refugees and migrants.

“The highly prioritized appeal follows a year when humanitarian lifelines strained and, in some places, snapped due to brutal funding cuts,” a release from the OCHA on Dec. 7 said.

“Funding for the appeal in 2025 — $12 billion — was the lowest in a decade and humanitarians reached 25 million less people than in 2024. The consequences were immediate: Hunger surged, health systems came under crushing strain, education fell away, mine clearance stalled and families faced blow after blow: no shelter, no cash assistance, no protection services.”