The Trump administration is set to initiate a comprehensive review of immigration security that may affect tens of thousands of legal residents. This directive involves reexamining every green card issued to immigrants from 19 designated ‘countries of concern’.
Federal representatives have described this as an extensive and intense process, marking a significant escalation following a recent attempted assassination-style attack on two National Guard members in Washington, resulting in one fatality on Thursday evening.
Joseph B. Edlow, the director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, publicly announced the directive, attributing the decision directly to President Donald Trump.
“Under @POTUS’s guidance, I have mandated a comprehensive, thorough review of every green card for individuals from each country of concern,” Edlow stated.
He further emphasized the administration’s stance in a subsequent statement.
“The safety of this nation and its citizens is our top priority. The American people will not be burdened by the previous administration’s irresponsible resettlement policies. The security of Americans is non-negotiable,” he declared.
Federal officials pointed to a June presidential proclamation that identifies the 19 nations now subject to the review.
The ‘countries of concern’ are: 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.
Trump announced Beckstrom’s death on Thursday night, describing her as an ‘incredible person’ and ‘outstanding in every way’
Nationals of 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 will have their Green Cards reexamined
While the administration has not stated how many green card holders could be affected, the order is one of the most aggressive retroactive immigration screening actions ever undertaken by a sitting administration.
At the same time as the USCIS green card review, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed it is now re-examining all asylum cases approved under the Biden administration, dramatically widening the scope.
The combined actions effectively place two of the largest immigration legal pathways of the last decade – asylum and Afghan humanitarian resettlement – under retroactive federal review.
Following Wednesday’s attack, Trump released a video message calling for a fresh investigation of every Afghan refugee admitted to the United States during the post-withdrawal evacuation.
‘If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them,’ Trump said, adding that the shooting was ‘a crime against our entire nation.’
Trump also attacked Somali refugees in Minnesota, saying they were ‘ripping apart that once-great state,’ as part of his broader pledge to deport those in the country illegally and suspend most refugee admissions.
The president has said he intends to remove anyone ‘who does not belong here or does not add benefit to our country.’
The order was announced publicly by Joseph B Edlow, director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
National Guard members, Staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe and Specialist Sarah Beckstrom were shot. Beckstrom later died from her injuries on Thursday
Members of law enforcement, including the US Secret Service and the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, secure the scene following a shooting near the White House
Afghan soldier Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was named as the alleged gunman
The announcement surrounding green card review came within hours of an act of violence in the nation’s capital, where two West Virginia National Guard members were ambushed.
Sadly, on Thursday evening President Trump announced 20-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom had died from her wounds after being shot in the ‘terror attack.’
He colleague, Staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition in hospital.
The accused gunman was identified by authorities as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021 during the mass evacuation following the collapse of the US-backed Afghan government.
The shooting is now being investigated as an act of terrorism, according to federal officials.
Lakanwal was one of roughly 76,000 Afghans brought into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome, the emergency resettlement initiative launched after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan during the chaotic US withdrawal.
The program was designed to extract interpreters, fighters, drivers, and others who had assisted the US mission during 20 years of war.
It was overseen by then-President Joe Biden, who said the United States owed those Afghans protection.
But critics, including Trump and congressional Republicans, warned from the outset that the evacuation was rushed and dangerously under-vetted.
‘This individual – and so many others – should have never been allowed to come here. Our citizens and servicemembers deserve far better than to endure the ongoing fallout from the Biden Administration’s catastrophic failures,’ said John Ratcliffe, the CIA director.
Ratcliffe also confirmed Lakanwal’s past connection to US intelligence.
‘Lakanwal worked with the CIA as a member of a partner force in Kandahar,’ Ratcliffe said, without detailing his exact duties.
The Kandahar region, located deep in southern Afghanistan, served as a Taliban stronghold and saw brutal fighting between NATO forces and insurgents after the September 11 attacks.
The CIA relied heavily on Afghan operatives for translation, logistics, and frontline combat support.
Little is publicly known about Lakanwal’s four years in the United States.
A former landlord said he lived in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and five children.
Authorities have not disclosed what prompted him to drive across the country to Washington before the shooting.
Officials said at the Thursday press conference that Lakanwal drove across the country from his home in Bellingham, Washington, to DC before he fired at the troops on Wednesday afternoon with a .357 revolver
The Trump administration is to launch a sweeping immigration security review of green cards issued to immigrants from 19 ‘countries of concern’
According to #AfghanEvac, Lakanwal’s asylum was approved in April under the Trump administration, after undergoing fingerprinting, iris scans, background checks, interviews, and formal risk assessments required of all asylum applicants.
A US official told CNN the suspect was ‘clean on all checks’ both before working with the US government and again before entering the country.
Humanitarian and veteran-led groups involved in Afghan resettlement warned against using the alleged actions of one man to condemn an entire population of evacuees.
‘I don’t want people to leverage this tragedy into a political ploy,’ said Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac.
