President Donald Trump held his ninth Cabinet meeting Tuesday morning at the White House, where immigration enforcement and border security are expected to take center stage following a week of new directives from the administration.
The meeting comes as the Department of Homeland Security pushes for what officials describe as a “full travel ban” on select countries.
The move follows the November 26 shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., by an Afghan asylee — an incident that prompted immediate policy action across multiple agencies.
In the days since the attack, the State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have suspended visa processing and immigration benefit requests for Afghan nationals both overseas and inside the United States.
The halt includes Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) for individuals who previously assisted U.S. military operations during the Afghanistan war, as well as other visa categories that had been exempted from the June 4 travel ban.
Officials said the freeze took effect immediately and is being implemented across all affected offices.
The administration has also directed a review of all green cards issued to individuals from the 19 countries covered under the travel ban, including Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran, Libya, and Yemen.
The review will examine past issuances under the Biden administration to ensure full compliance with current national security standards. U.S. officials have not said how many cases will be reexamined or how long the process will take, but the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that new guidance for handling “discretionary benefits” is being prepared.
Separately, asylum officers have been instructed to pause all pending affirmative asylum decisions nationwide until new vetting procedures are finalized. Defensive asylum cases in immigration court are not affected by the pause, but it effectively halts new asylum approvals by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
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Over the Thanksgiving weekend, President Trump announced his intention to “permanently pause migration from third-world countries,” emphasizing the need for a merit-based immigration system that prioritizes skills and self-sufficiency over extended family sponsorships and random visa lotteries.
The White House has not yet released a timetable for implementation, but senior officials said the measure would build on Trump’s earlier June 4 order tightening entry standards for 19 countries deemed “high-risk.”
Administration officials say the combined policies are designed to restore the rule of law after years of lax enforcement and to protect Americans in the wake of violent crimes committed by foreign nationals who entered under prior immigration programs.
The President is expected to press Cabinet secretaries for updates on visa screening reforms, interior enforcement priorities, and coordination with local law enforcement during today’s meeting.
The Cabinet will also discuss ongoing operations in the Caribbean following a September U.S. military strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel.
According to the Pentagon, Navy Vice Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley authorized the strike under counter-narcotics authorities after the ship refused to stop. A follow-up strike on the same vessel has been reviewed internally, and the White House said Monday that Bradley acted “within his authority and the law.”
President Trump has defended Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who oversaw the operation, saying the mission was successful and lawful. Bradley is scheduled to brief congressional defense committees in a closed session later this week.
