Trump suspends immigration from 19 countries. And calls Dem Omar 'rubbish'

The Trump administration said it has suspended all immigration applications, including those for green cards and US citizenship, filed by immigrants from 19 non-European countries, citing national security and public safety concerns. This was reported in the US media. The suspension applies to people from 19 countries that were already subject to a partial travel ban in June, imposing further immigration restrictions. The official memorandum outlining the new policy cites the attack on members of the US National Guard in Washington last week, in which an Afghan man was arrested as a suspect. One National Guard member was killed and another was seriously injured in the shooting.

The countries targeted in the memorandum are Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia,Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen. The new policy suspends pending applications and requires all immigrants from the listed countries to 'undergo a thorough review process, including a potential interview and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess all threats to national security and public safety'. The memorandum cites several recent crimes suspected to have been committed by immigrants, including the attack on the US National Guard.

The US administration will also launch an immigration control operation this week in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, mainly targeting hundreds of Somali immigrants in the area. According to a report in the New York Times, the directive for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation was issued shortly after US President Donald Trump called Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar "rubbish" and declared that Somalis should "go back to where they came from".

"I don't want them in our country. I will be honest with you, OK. Some people will say, 'Oh, this is not politically correct. I don't care. I don't want them in our country,'" Trump said at the cabinet meeting yesterday. He then again targeted Minnesota Democrat Omar, who came to the US from Somalia as a refugee and became a US citizen 25 years ago: 'We can go one way or another and we would be going in the wrong direction if we continue to bring rubbish into our country. She is rubbish. Her friends are rubbish. These are not people who work. These are not people who say, 'Come on, let's make this place great'".

According to an official told NYT, the ICE operation in Minnesota will start with Somalis who have received final deportation orders and are living in the Twin Cities, but others who are still trying to obtain legal status may also be involved.