The Trump administration has indefinitely suspended immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries, marking one of its most expansive efforts yet to restrict legal pathways to the United States.
The freeze, which takes effect on 21 January, targets applicants officials deem likely to become a “public charge” – whom they describe as people who may rely on government benefits for basic needs.
The state department wrote on social media that it “will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates”.
The list includes war-torn nations, US allies and countries with long-standing immigration ties to the US (you can view the full list here).
Research contradicts administration claims about immigrant welfare use. In February last year, the libertarian Cato Institute published a paper showing that native-born Americans consumed, on an average per capita basis, more welfare and entitlement benefits than all immigrants. The study found that immigrants consumed 21% fewer welfare and entitlement benefits than native-born Americans on a per capita basis in 2022.
Trump administration halts immigrant visa processing from 75 countries
“The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the state department wrote in a statement. “We are working to ensure the generosity of the American people will no longer be abused.”
The pause follows Trump’s December expansion of travel bans to 39 countries, suspension of asylum processing and halting of citizenship and green card applications for citizens of countries already subject to restrictions.
US Senate kills resolution that would have limited Trump action in Venezuela
The US Senate has voted against a war powers resolution that would have prevented Donald Trump from taking further military action against Venezuela without giving Congress advance notice.
Senators Josh Hawley of Missouri and Todd Young of Indiana, who had joined three other Republicans to advance the resolution alongside Democrats last week, flipped after they said they received assurances from the Trump administration.
Trump insists Greenland is crucial for national security after Denmark talks
Donald Trump has said it would be “unacceptable” for Greenland to be “in the hands” of any country other than the US, reiterating his demand to take over the arctic island, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.
“The US needs Greenland for the purpose of national security. Nato should be leading the way for us to get it,” the US president said on social media. The alliance “becomes far more formidable and effective” with the territory under US control, he said.
Iran signals quick trials and executions for protesters in defiance of US warnings
The Iranian government has signalled that detained protesters are to face speedy trials and executions, defying a threat by Trump to intervene if authorities continue their crackdown.
Trump is making China – not the US – great again, global survey suggests
The 21-country survey for the influential European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) thinktank found majorities in almost every territory surveyed expected China’s global influence to grow over the next decade.
DoJ says ‘unnecessary’ to find whether seizing Maduro violated law
The Trump administration received approval from the justice department to use the military to seize Nicolás Maduro even as it declined to address whether the operation would violate international law, according to a legal memo. The dark-of-night raid to capture Venezuela’s president has raised a host of legal issues concerning the president’s power to start an armed conflict without congressional approval and possible breaches of international law.
Democratic lawmakers file articles of impeachment against Kristi Noem
The Democratic representative Robin Kelly on Wednesday formally introduced articles of impeachment against Trump’s homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, following the fatal shooting of a US citizen by an immigration agent in Minneapolis last week.
“Secretary Noem has brought her reign of terror to the Chicagoland area, LA, New Orleans, Charlotte, Durham and communities east, north, to south to east to west” Kelly said in a press conference on Wednesday. “She needs to be held accountable for her actions.”
Trump administration cancels up to $1.9bn for substance use and mental health
The Trump administration on Tuesday evening unexpectedly canceled up to $1.9bn in funding for substance use and mental health care, which providers say will immediately affect thousands of patients.
“The scope of care that’s disrupted by these grants is catastrophic,” said Ryan Hampton, founder of Mobilize Recovery, a national advocacy organization for people in and seeking recovery. “Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people will die.”
What else happened today:
The US has announced the start of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, including the creation of a committee of Palestinian officials who are supposed to take over the day-to-day running of the territory for a transition period.
A reporter has become embroiled in a public dispute with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after penning an article on how she was in effect offered a position with the organization following an interview that took less than six minutes and did not require her to complete “a single signature on agency paperwork”.
The US Environmental Protection Agency says it will stop calculating how much money is saved in healthcare costs avoided and deaths prevented from air pollution rules that curb two deadly pollutants.
A man shot and wounded by a border patrol agent during an immigration stop in Portland last week has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault against a federal officer and damaging federal property.
Trump hit out at the JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon, saying the Wall Street executive was wrong to suggest he was undermining the independence of the Federal Reserve.
The FBI raided the home of a Washington Post reporter in what the newspaper called a “highly unusual and aggressive” move by law enforcement.
Tens of thousands of dollars have been raised for an autoworker at a Ford plant in Michigan who was suspended without pay after heckling Trump.
The House oversight committee will move to hold Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress, its Republican chair James Comer said Wednesday, after the former first lady refused to comply with a subpoena for testimony regarding the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Whole milk is heading back to school cafeterias across the country after Trump signed a bill on Wednesday overturning Obama-era limits on higher-fat milk options.
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 13 January 2026.
