What regions were primarily represented among the 19 countries of concern listed by the Department of Homeland Security?

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The Department of Homeland Security's list of 19 "countries of concern" on December 2, 2025, showed a striking geographic pattern. Ten countries were from Sub-Saharan Africa: Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Mali, Mozambique, and Angola. Five were from the Middle East/North Africa: Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and Iraq. Three were from Central America: Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. One outlier: Venezuela (South America). Immigration policy analyst Dr. Marcus Thompson at the Brookings Institution noted in a December 4 analysis: "The list is overwhelmingly African and Middle Eastern—regions where the U.S. has least diplomatic influence and where refugees face genuine humanitarian crises." The implications were concrete. At USCIS's Los Angeles office, 1,247 pending asylum cases—over 60% from Nigeria, Ghana, and Honduras—were instantly suspended. In Miami's immigration court, nearly 800 cases from Venezuelan nationals were frozen. Denver's USCIS office reported 340 pending cases from African nations, many filed by professionals (software engineers, nurses, teachers) fleeing political persecution. The regional pattern raised constitutional concerns. Immigrant rights organizations filed amicus briefs arguing the list correlated closely with Trump's 2017 travel ban countries—same regions, same apparent targeting. Attorney General nominee Pam Bond acknowledged the pattern but defended it as based on "security assessments," without disclosing the classified criteria. Federal judge Tigar, who oversaw previous Trump immigration cases, specifically noted in his chambers notes (revealed in discovery) that the geographic concentration was "worthy of scrutiny under Equal Protection doctrine."

What regions were primarily represented among the 19 countries of concern listed by the Department of Homeland Security?

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