The US will re-examine all green cards issued to people from 19 countries of “concern” on President Donald Trump’s instructions, as the Trump administration ramps up its immigration crackdown following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC.
“At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full-scale, rigorous re-examination of every green card for every alien from every country of concern,” Joe Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, wrote in a post Thursday.
Asked for additional details, including which countries are considered “of concern,” USCIS pointed CNN to the 19 countries listed in the June presidential proclamation.
The 19 countries include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
USCIS said in a statement later Thursday that when screening immigrants from those 19 countries, the agency will now take into account “negative, country-specific factors,” including whether the country is “able to issue secure identification documents.”
Since officials identified the suspect in last night’s shootings as Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakhanwal, the Trump administration has stepped up its efforts to restrict immigration.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees USCIS, said Thursday that the administration is also reviewing all asylum cases that were approved under former President Joe Biden.
“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests involving Afghan nationals has been paused indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CNN. “The Trump administration is also reviewing all asylum cases approved under the Biden administration,” he said.
Lakanwal – who previously worked with the US government, including the CIA – came to the country as part of Biden’s “Operation Ally’s Welcome” in 2021 after assisting the US in Afghanistan. CNN previously reported that he had applied for asylum in 2024 and that the Trump administration had approved it in April 2025.
The Coalition of Afghan Communities in the United States condemned the shooting on Thursday, while also expressing concern over the impact of Lakhanwal’s actions on the immigration process for other Afghan citizens.
“The crimes of one individual should not jeopardize or hinder the legal cases of thousands of eligible Afghans who meet all U.S. legal requirements,” the coalition said in a statement. In a statement, the coalition called on federal agencies to process Afghan migrants as usual without delay or suspension.
According to the State Department, more than 190,000 Afghans have settled in the United States since US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021.
In a video address from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida late Wednesday, Trump blamed the Biden administration for bringing the alleged shooter to the US and argued that the attack “underscores the greatest national security threat facing our country.”
“We must now, under Biden, re-vet every single alien entering our country from Afghanistan and we must take all necessary measures to remove any alien from any country who benefits our country,” Trump said in remarks.
Trump also expressed regret over what he described as “20 million undocumented and undocumented aliens” entering the United States during his predecessor’s administration, calling it “a risk to our existence.”
The administration’s latest move to reexamine green cards is in line with Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric. A green card is a document that recognizes its holder as a lawful permanent resident of the United States. This is separate from the refugee and asylum programs – which the Trump administration has already sought to limit – although refugees must apply for a green card after living in the US for a year.
This story has been updated with additional details.
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