Trump administration will re-examine Green Card holders from 19 countries

The Trump administration announced it would review green cards issued to people who immigrated to the United States from 19 countries.

The head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, said the president had asked him to conduct “a comprehensive and rigorous review of every green card for every alien from every affected country.”

When asked by the BBC which countries were on the list, the agency pointed to a June White House proclamation that included Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Somalia and Venezuela.

The announcement follows reports that an Afghan national allegedly shot two National Guard soldiers in Washington DC on Wednesday, seriously injuring them both.

The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, arrived in the United States in 2021 as part of a program providing special immigration protections to Afghans following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

President Donald Trump said the shooting highlighted a major threat to national security.

Edlow’s social media post Thursday about the sweeping green card overhaul did not explicitly mention the attack.

“Protecting this country and the American people remains paramount, and the American people will not bear the cost of the previous administration’s reckless resettlement policies,” Edlow said.

There were no further details on what form the review would take.

The June proclamation that his agency highlighted to the BBC was intended to prevent foreign nationals from entering the United States to protect against “foreign terrorists and other threats to national security and public safety.”

The administration said security concerns and overstay rates for business, student and tourist visas were among the reasons a country was on the list.

“The Taliban, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Group (SDGT), controls Afghanistan,” the proclamation said. “Afghanistan does not have a competent or cooperative central authority to issue passports or civil documents and it lacks appropriate monitoring and control measures.”

Other countries whose green card holders will be subject to this review include Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo and Libya.

Wednesday’s attack on members of the U.S. military drew a forceful response from Trump.

“This attack underscores the greatest national security threat facing our country,” the president said. “The last administration let in 20 million unknown, unscreened aliens from all over the world, from places you don’t even want to know exist. No country can tolerate such risk to our very survival.”

Last week, the same agency behind the green card review, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, announced a review of all refugees admitted under former President Joe Biden.

The United States on Wednesday suspended processing all immigration applications from Afghans, with Citizenship and Immigration Services saying the decision was made pending a review of “security and vetting protocols.”