Following a shooting in Washington D.C., the Trump administration has announced a sweeping “re-examination” of all green cards held by immigrants from 19 designated countries, a move it frames as a critical national security measure.
The head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Joseph Edlow, stated the president directed a “full scale, rigorous re-examination of every green card for every alien from every country of concern.” The list, referenced from a June White House proclamation, includes nations such as Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Venezuela, Cuba, and Haiti.
The announcement comes in direct response to an incident on Wednesday, in which an Afghan national, who arrived in the U.S. in 2021 under a special immigration program, allegedly shot and gravely injured two National Guard troops. President Donald Trump cited the attack as evidence of a major national security threat, stating, “The last administration let in 20 million unknown and unvetted foreigners.”
While Edlow’s announcement did not explicitly mention the shooting, he asserted that “the American people will not bear the cost of the prior administration’s reckless resettlement policies.” The administration has concurrently suspended processing all new immigration requests from Afghans pending a security review.
The new policy expands upon existing travel restrictions. The June proclamation cited reasons for a country’s inclusion, such as security concerns, high visa overstay rates, and a lack of cooperative government authority for proper document vetting, as is the case with Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Other countries affected include Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, and Libya.
There were no immediate details on the practical implementation of the green card re-examination, which represents a significant escalation of the administration’s immigration vetting procedures.
By James Kisoo
