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The United States said Wednesday it was suspending the processing of immigrant visas from Nigeria and 74 countries, President Donald Trump’s latest move against foreigners seeking to come to America.
The United States has long rejected visas from people who appear likely to end up needing government welfare, but the State Department said it would now use the same authority for a blanket suspension of immigrant visas based on nationality.
“The Trump administration is bringing an end to the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
“Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassesses immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits,” he said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X that the countries affected would include Somalia — whose people Trump has attacked in heated terms after immigrants were involved in a funding scandal in Minnesota — as well as Russia and Iran.
Leavitt linked to a Fox News article that said other countries affected would include a number of countries with friendly relations with the United States, including Brazil, Egypt and Thailand.
The State Department did not immediately release a full list of countries.
Trump has made no secret of his desire to reduce immigration by people who are not of European descent. He has described Somalis as “garbage” who should “go back to where they came from” and instead said he was open to Scandinavians moving to the United States.
The State Department said Monday that it has revoked more than 100,000 visas since Trump’s return, a one-year record.
The Department of Homeland Security last month said that the Trump administration has deported more than 605,000 people, and that 2.5 million others left on their own.
The latest move does not affect tourist, business or other visas, including for soccer fans seeking to visit for this year’s World Cup, although the Trump administration has vowed to vet all applicants’ social media histories.
FULL LIST
Below is the full list of countries affected by the latest US government move:
1. Afghanistan
2. Albania
3. Algeria
4. Antigua and Barbuda
5. Armenia
6. Azerbaijan
7. Bahamas
8. Bangladesh
9. Barbados
10. Belarus
11. Belize
12. Bhutan
13. Bosnia
14. Brazil
15. Burma
16. Cambodia
17. Cameroon
18. Cape Verde
19. Colombia
20. Cote d’Ivoire
21. Cuba
22. Democratic Republic of the Congo
23. Dominica
24. Egypt
25. Eritrea
26. Ethiopia
27. Fiji
28. Gambia
29. Georgia
30. Ghana
31. Grenada
32. Guatemala
33. Guinea
34. Haiti
35. Iran
36. Iraq
37. Jamaica
38. Jordan
39. Kazakhstan
40. Kosovo
41. Kuwait
42. Kyrgyzstan
43. Laos
44. Lebanon
45. Liberia
46. Libya
47. Macedonia
48. Moldova
49. Mongolia
50. Montenegro
51. Morocco
52. Nepal
53. Nicaragua
54. Nigeria
55. Pakistan
56. Republic of the Congo
57. Russia
58. Rwanda
59. Saint Kitts and Nevis
60. Saint Lucia
61. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
62. Senegal
63. Sierra Leone
64. Somalia
65. South Sudan
66. Sudan
67. Syria
68. Tanzania
69. Thailand
70. Togo
71. Tunisia
72. Uganda
73. Uruguay
74. Uzbekistan
75. Yemen
AFP
