Claim:
An image authentically shows a Dec. 2, 2025, memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that marked all migrants who came into the United States in or after 2021 for deportation and, when relevant, revocation of citizenship.
Rating:
What’s True
The image shows an authentic memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services dated Dec. 2, 2025.
What’s False
The memo does not mark all migrants who came into the United States in or after 2021 for deportation, nor does it revoke citizenship for U.S. citizens who immigrated in or after 2021. In reality, the memo directed government employees to reexamine approved immigration applications for migrants from 19 countries listed in an earlier travel ban directive who arrived in the United States on or after Jan. 20, 2021. That does not mean automatic removal, nor does it affect migrants who are not from those 19 countries.
In early December 2025, a rumor spread online that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released a memo that supposedly “marked for deportation” all immigrants who arrived in the United States during or after 2021. The rumor also claim that if those migrants had American citizenship, it could be revoked.
The claim spread on X and Facebook alongside an image of the aforementioned document.
(Facebook user Kim Hoover-Farrell)
While the memo was real, social media users inaccurately described its contents. The directive did not, in fact, order the deportation of recently arrived migrants and revocation of citizenship when applicable. The memo directed government employees to reexamine approved immigration applications for migrants from 19 countries listed in an earlier travel ban policy who arrived in the United States on or after Jan. 20, 2021. That does not mean automatic removal or revocation of citizenship, nor does it mark “all immigrants” who arrived during the aforementioned time period for deportation.
As such, we have rated this claim a mixture of truth and falsehood.
The memo also halted immigration applications for migrants from the travel ban countries and reaffirmed USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow’s Nov. 28 announcement that the agency would pause processing all pending asylum applications for refugees — regardless of country — “pending a comprehensive review.”
Here’s the text of the memo and image circulating online:
Effective immediately, this memorandum directs U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) personnel to:
1. Place a hold on all Forms I-589 (Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal), regardless of the alien’s country of nationality, pending a comprehensive review;
2. Place a hold on pending benefit requests for aliens from countries listed in Presidential Proclamation (PP) 10949, Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats, pending a comprehensive review, regardless of entry date; and
3. Conduct a comprehensive re-review of approved benefit requests for aliens from countries listed in PP 10949 who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021.
As stated above, the memo’s directive to suspend processing “pending benefit requests” — in other words, pending immigration applications, including citizenship — and its re-review of approved benefit requests for those who arrived on or after Jan. 20, 2021, only applies to migrants from countries “listed in Presidential Proclamation (PP) 10949.” The memo also said USCIS “may, when appropriate, extend this review and re-interview process to aliens who entered the United States outside of this timeframe” (see Page 2 of the PDF of the memo that appears on the USCIS website).
Presidential Proclamation 10949, published in June 2025, fully restricted the entry of nationals from 12 countries and partially restricted the entry of nationals from seven additional countries (emphasis ours):
(f) After reviewing the report described in subsection (d) of this section, and after accounting for the foreign policy, national security, and counterterrorism objectives of the United States, I have determined to fully restrict and limit the entry of nationals of the following 12 countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. These restrictions distinguish between, but apply to both, the entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants.
(g) I have determined to partially restrict and limit the entry of nationals of the following 7 countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. These restrictions distinguish between, but apply to both, the entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants.
As these 19 countries were listed in Presidential Proclamation 10949 as shown above, they represented the countries affected by the Dec. 2 directive. Thus, the memo does not affect migrants with approved immigration applications if they do not come from the aforementioned countries.
As one of the reasons for implementing the policy, the memo cited the Nov. 26 shooting of two National Guard members on patrol in Washington, D.C., which left one dead and the other critically wounded. The suspect, who pleaded not guilty, is an Afghan national who reportedly entered the United States legally under former President Joe Biden’s administration and received asylum during Trump’s second term. Reputable reports indicated the suspect was part of a CIA-backed unit that hunted Taliban commanders. As of this writing, authorities were still investigating a possible motive.
Here’s the full memo:
Snopes has previously reported on a rumor that the United States planned to deny citizenship to people who don’t support Israel and confirmed that the first Trump administration launched an immigrant “denaturalization” task force.
Sources
@chiefngb. “Chief of the National Guard Bureau on Instagram: ‘We Are Heartbroken to Learn Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, One of Our West Virginia National Guard Heroes Who Was Viciously Attacked While Defending Our Nation and Our Freedoms, Has Died from Her Wounds. Our Deepest Condolences Go out to Spc. Beckstrom’s Family and Friends. Our Hearts, Prayers and Support Are with Them and Her West Virginia National Guard Teammates. Our Entire Guard Nation Mourns Her Loss.'” Instagram, Nov. 2017, www.instagram.com/p/DRlLfyXDFdG/. Accessed 4 Dec. 2025.
@USCISJoe. “USCIS Has Halted All Asylum Decisions until We Can Ensure That Every Alien Is Vetted and Screened to the Maximum Degree Possible. The Safety of the American People Always Comes First.” X.com, 28 Nov. 2025, x.com/USCISJoe/status/1994545007588774347?s=20. Accessed 4 Dec. 2025.
“Afghan National Charged with the Murder of National Guard Soldier Sarah Beckstrom.” Justice.gov, 2 Dec. 2025, www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/afghan-national-charged-murder-national-guard-soldier-sarah-beckstrom.
Policy Memorandum. 2 Dec. 2025, www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-alerts/PM-602-0192-PendingApplicationsHighRiskCountries-20251202.pdf.
“Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.” Federal Register, 10 June 2025, www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/06/10/2025-10669/restricting-the-entry-of-foreign-nationals-to-protect-the-united-states-from-foreign-terrorists-and.
“W.Va. National Guard Confirms Identity of Guardsmen Wounded in D.C. Shooting.” West Virginia National Guard, 27 Nov. 2025, www.wv.ng.mil/News/Article/4344083/wva-national-guard-confirms-identity-of-guardsmen-wounded-in-dc-shooting/.
