The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), has announced an immediate pause on all immigration applications from 19 countries already on the US travel ban list, including green-card requests and US citizenship applications.

The list of countries includes Afghanistan and Somalia. The freeze is triggered by a deadly shooting involving an Afghan national near Washington, D.C. This means thousands of immigrants some of whom had already undergone extensive vetting will now face indefinite delays, as their applications are placed under review.

 Tsepiso Makwetla crossed to Washingtong D.C to speak to American writer, activist, and political commentator, Phyllis Bennis.