Page 40 - The Indian EYE 010226
P. 40
JANUARY 02, 2026
IMMIGRATION The Indian Eye 40
Another Round of
Country Bans Driven by
Presidential Animus
BY CYRUS D. MEHTA AND Republic of Congo, Equato- change visitor (J) visas. ly-based immigrant visas and the DV program are subject
rial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Nationals of Turkmenistan adoption visas. Individuals to a USCIS processing hold
KAITLYN BOX*
Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, remain prohibited from en- whose entry is determined to pending a “comprehensive
and Yemen into the United tering the United States on be in the national interest as review”.
he Trump adminis- States under INA 212(f), immigrant visas. determined by the Depart- The impetus for this
tration recently an-
The new proclamation
Tnounced two new pol- which authorizes the Presi- fully bans nationals of Burki- ment of Justice, Secretary of suspension appears to be the
shooting at Brown Universi-
State, or Secretary of Home-
dent to restrict the entry of
icies that create additional aliens if they are deemed na Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, land Security may also be el- ty and killing of an MIT pro-
hurdles to lawful immigra- “detrimental to the interests Sierra Leone, South Sudan, igible for exemptions. fessor carried out by an indi-
tion. of the United States”. It also and Syria, as well as individ- The expanded set of re- vidual who initially entered
The first policy, an-
nounced on December 16, restricts nationals of Burun- uals holding Palestinian Au- strictions applies to individ- the U.S. pursuant to the DV
thority-issued or endorsed
di, Cuba, Togo, Venezuela,
program.
uals who are outside of the
2025, is an expansion of the and Turkmenistan from en- travel documents from entry United States as of January
earlier Presidential Proc- tering the US on immigrant, into the United States. It 1, 2026, and do not have a
lamation which restricted tourist (B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2), also introduces partial re- valid visa. The list of impact- In a post on X, DHS
the entry of nationals of student (F and M), or ex- strictions for Angola, Anti- ed countries will be reviewed Secretary Kristi Noem
Afghanistan, Burma, Chad,
gua and Barbuda, Benin, by the administration every said that: “At President
Cote d’Ivoire, Domini- 180 days to determine if any
ca, Gabon, The Gam- changes are needed. Trump’s direction, I am
bia, Malawi, Maurita- Although INA 212(f) immediately directing
nia, Nigeria, Senegal, authorizes the entry of aliens
Tanzania, Tonga, Zam- into the US, see Trump v. [U.S. Citizenship and
bia, and Zimbabwe. Hawaii, the Trump admin- Immigration Services]
Lawful permanent istration has expanded its
residents, current visa authority under INA 212(f) to pause the DV1 pro-
holders, dual national to also order a pause on the gram to ensure no more
of a designated country adjudication of immigration
traveling on a passport benefits within the US under Americans are harmed
of a non-designated the original 19 countries and by this disastrous pro-
country, asylees, diplo- the countries banned under
mats holding A, G, or the expanded proclamation. gram”.
NATO visas, ethnic and It remains to be seen wheth-
religious minorities in er the courts will allow the Cyrus Mehta, in a post
Iran and some athletes Trump administration to on X, said: “One person’s
traveling for a major expand 212(f) to pause ben- bad actions should not be
sporting event are ex- efits in the US when INA used to shut down the en-
empt from the travel 212(f) speaks only to the tire Diversity Visa program
restrictions. Special entry of aliens into the US that is mandated by Con-
m of Immigrant Visa (SIV) and not to the banning of gress. The Brown University
CYRUS D. MEHTA & PARTNERS PLLC holder are also exempt benefits of noncitizens al- shootings were not as a re-
ready in the United States.
from the travel restric-
sult of the visa program but
tions, although Afghans Nationals of 39 countries are based on the motivations of
who qualify for the SIV now banned under Trump’s an individual. The President
program are no longer proclamations. has in the past unfortunate-
exempt. The Trump administra- ly attacked the DV program
The latest procla- tion has also taken aim at because it brings people
mation also removes the Diversity Visa Program, from “shithole” countries to
exceptions previously suspending the program ef- the US. The alleged killer in
outlined in the June fective January 1, 2026 at this case is from Portugal,
2 6th Floor proclamation for in- 12:01 AM EST. All current, which hardly qualifies from
dividuals with fami- pending applications under among the countries that
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