Consider This from NPR - Trump immigration application pause throws lives in limbo

Episode Date: May 1, 2026

The Trump administration has paused immigration applications for people from 39 countries, and for those already living in the U.S. the impact has been catastrophic.The lives of hundreds of thousands of people living in the country were thrown into limbo after the Trump administration paused their immigration applications in recent months.They were students, engineers, teachers and others living and working legally in the U.S.The pause affects those who were born in one of 39 countries the U.S. says pose a national security risk. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Hey there, it's Scott Detrow, and I've got a quick special message before we start the podcast today about public media giving days. This national celebration is marked every year on May 1st and 2nd to honor the impact of public media on our lives and communities. And this is a big deal because consider this and everything else you love from NPR is public media, which means we are dedicated to informing everyone. We're able to do so. Thank you to the support of the public we serve, and that is you. It's also listeners like Riba in Alabama, a recent NPRN. network donor who says, my 20-something daughter and son got me hooked on this podcast. The news today is overwhelming, yet I need to stay informed. Please keep up the great work. Well, thank you, Riba, for listening

and sending that nice note and also for your support. And you can be like Riba. You don't have to say nice things about us even, but you can make your gift through public media giving days at donate.npr.org. Thank you for standing with us. Now back to the show. It's consider this where every day we go deep on one big news story. Today, the real-life consequence of the Trump administration's aggressive immigration moves. This particular immigration policy began last year. My great fellow Americans, earlier today on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, two members of the National Guard serving in Washington, D.C., was shot at point-blank range.

That's President Trump speaking last November. On the afternoon of November 26th, Army specialist Sarah Bextram and Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe were shot when on patrol a few blocks from the White House. Bextram later died of her injuries. Rachmane La Lackenwal, the man charged with the shooting, is an Afghan national. He worked with U.S. forces in Afghanistan and was granted asylum under the Trump administration. After the shooting, Trump announced a pause on asylum decisions. And we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any of any. alien from any country who does not belong here or add benefit to our country. If they can't

love our country, we don't want them. The U.S. stop reviewing immigration applications filed from people who were born in Afghanistan and 38 other countries. Five months later, the applications from the people in those countries are still in limbo. Consider this. The lives of hundreds of thousands of people hang in the balance. And for people already living in the U.S., the impact has been catastrophic. From NPR, I'm Scott Detrow. It's Consider This from NPR. The Trump administration says it's November pause of immigration applications from people in 39 countries is because of a national security risk.

Many of those affected are students, engineers, and others who were living and working here legally. NPR's Hemanabustillo has the story. P came to the U.S. on a student visa in 2023. I told the consular officer that I had a lot to contribute to the United States. And I was granted the visa I came to the United States, and now it looks like it's a whole lot different. He is originally from Nigeria. We're using his first initial because he's afraid his immigration application could be negatively impacted by speaking with NPR. He graduated with a master's in engineering from a Texas university last December.

But because he was born in Nigeria, one of the countries on the government's list, his application to have a work permit is on hold. This occupies me right now. Like, I wake up in the morning. The first course of action is to go on my PC and check it. There's been some change. And it just seems to take over me, like, all day. P was hoping to work in the oil and gas industry.

Instead, he has been unable to have any job at all. Basically, as it stands right now, I barely can't. pay rent. I barely can't feed. I barely can't pay bills. It is overwarming and it's sad. P is one of hundreds of thousands already at risk of losing status because they come from one of these countries, the Trump administration has deemed a risk to national security. Last year after an Afghan national was charged in the shooting of two national guardsmen in Washington, D.C., the Trump administration paused reviewing any application filed from people who were born in Afghanistan and 38 other countries. Zachary New is an immigration lawyer in Colorado.

So over the course of the last four months where people have been losing status, losing work authorization, being pulled from naturalization oath ceremonies, medical residents who haven't been able to be placed. He is on a lawsuit representing over 500 people in these situations. These are all people who are trying to do things the right way. So by suddenly not having an option for doing things the right way, folks are kind of panicking. NPR spoke with over a dozen people whose permissions to live and work in the U.S. are paused. Some are recent graduates. Others are recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, who came to the U.S. as children. A. lives in Ohio and is from Myanmar. She also spoke to NPR

anonymously out of fear of repercussions for her applications. She came to the U.S. in 2016 for her bachelor's degree. And she was renewing her work permit and applying for a green card when the pause hit. It hits really hard because I was actually in line for a promotion in July. Now both processes are paused and her work permit expires in July. I work in regulatory compliance for cancer clinical trials. We've been trying to prepare for this by making sure that all my loose ends are tired. up and transitioning studies to other people where we can.

I know it's early, but I also handle the biggest team in the cancer center. Lawyers warned that the effects of the pause won't just be felt by immigrants waiting on their visas, but major companies, hospitals, and the firms they work for. U.S. citizens are also impacted. Isaac Navez Gomez is a U.S. citizen. He and his wife are both from Venezuela. They got married last summer, and although his wife is also, also a citizen of Italy and Uruguay, Navez Gomez said it was an easy choice for them to live in America.

That was entirely on me. This is my country, you know. I have no allegiance to any other country besides the United States. Since Venezuela is on the travel ban list, the process to petition his wife's screen card is paused. We can't have a family. I can't add her to health insurance. We can't plan ahead to buy a house because every mortgage company requests social security number and credit history, which she's she doesn't have. It basically has limited our marriage just because of that Venezuelan birth. U.S. citizenship and immigration services, which is the agency that reviews these applications, said in a statement to NPR that the pause is necessary while it vets and screens people who could be risks to the U.S. lawmakers questioned U.S.CIS director Joseph Edlo about general delays in reviewing applications during a recent congressional hearing. Here's how he responded.

I consider this to be short-term pain, which is going to really lead to long-term gain in the fair and proper processing of immigration. But immigrants feeling that pain are pushing for faster answers. There are about three dozen pending lawsuits over the pause, according to New, the Colorado lawyer. In at least one lawsuit, a federal judge mandated USCIS review the applications of 33 individuals. The rest are still waiting. These aren't individuals who are suddenly jumping into the shadow economy and trying to work without authorization. News says that as more people lose status, the damage becomes harder to repair. People are losing jobs. People are losing placement in medical residency.

People are losing status. And those things are not something that just goes away by processing starting again. And there's no sense of when or if the pause will lift. Hima Bustillo, NPR News, Washington. This episode was produced by Karen Zamora, Catherine Fink, and Kai Mactomy with audio engineering by Peter Elena. It was edited by Anna Yukoninoff and Courtney Dorney. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigan. Thank you to our Consider This Plus listeners who support the work of NPR journalists and help keep public radio strong. Supporters also hear every episode without messages from sponsors and unlock bonus episodes of Consider This.

You can learn more at plus.npr.org. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Scott Detrow.