Trump orders full review of green cards and asylum cases from 19 countries following the DC National Guard shooting, citing national security concerns.
Donald Trump administration has ordered a comprehensive review of all US green cards issued to immigrants from 19 countries “of concern,” a move framed as part of a broader national security effort following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joe Edlow said the review would examine “every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.” The list includes Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
The policy shift comes after authorities identified the suspect in the Thanksgiving Day attack as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021 under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program and was granted asylum in April 2025. Lakanwal had previously worked with US agencies, including the CIA, during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that immigration requests from Afghan nationals are being halted indefinitely while security and vetting protocols are reviewed. All asylum cases approved under the Biden administration are also under reassessment.
Read Also: Trump Halts Immigration From ‘3rd World,’ Reviews Green Cards
President Donald Trump, speaking from his Mar-a-Lago resort, framed the move as a necessary response to “the single greatest national security threat facing our nation.” He said the administration would “reexamine every single alien who’s entered our country from Afghanistan” and target any immigrants deemed a risk or “not a net asset” to the United States.
Trump’s directive extends beyond Afghanistan, calling for a broader pause on migration from what he described as “Third World Countries” and pledging to revoke federal benefits or citizenship for immigrants who are considered incompatible with American norms. The administration has not specified which countries fall under this broader designation.
The announcement drew immediate concern from immigrant communities. The Alliance of Afghan Communities in the United States condemned the DC shooting but urged authorities not to delay legal processing for Afghans who meet US immigration requirements. Since August 2021, over 190,000 Afghans have resettled in the United States.
Critics argue the review risks politicizing immigration and could create delays or fear among law-abiding immigrants. Supporters say it is a necessary national security measure in the wake of the shooting, which left US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom dead and US Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe critically injured while serving in the nation’s capital.
The administration’s sweeping green card review represents the most aggressive action yet in Trump’s ongoing effort to tighten US immigration policy, highlighting the intersection of domestic security concerns and immigration politics.