Trump administration orders “rigorous reexamination” of all green cards for every immigrant from “a country of concern”
The Trump administration announced Thursday that it would conduct a “rigorous, large-scale review” of all green cards for every immigrant from a “country of concern” following the filming of two members of the National Guard in Washington, D.C. An Afghan national who arrived in the United States in 2021, was arrested as a suspect in Wednesday’s attack.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow said Thursday that the order came at the request of President Trump. Two Homeland Security officials told CBS News that 19 countries were on the list, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Somalia, Libya, Sudan, Yemen and Venezuela.
Two members of the West Virginia National Guard, Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were shot dead on Wednesday near the White House in what authorities described as an “ambush-style attack.” Authorities said Thursday that Beckstorm and Wolfe were hospitalized in critical condition.
Lakanwal was shot and killed Wednesday by a member of the National Guard, ending the attack, authorities said. He faces three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, and he will also be charged with possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Thursday. Charges could still change depending on the condition of guard members.
The Department of Homeland Security identified the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who authorities say was paroled to the United States in 2021 as part of a Biden-era program for Afghan nationals called Operation Allies Welcome. The CIA confirmed Thursday that Lakanwal had worked with the agency in Afghanistan.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CBS News on Thursday that the agency is now reviewing all asylum cases approved under the Biden administration.
It’s unclear how extensive Homeland Security’s review of asylum policies will be. The Trump administration ordered a unprecedented review and a rescreening of all refugees admitted to the United States under the Biden administration earlier this month. Refugees and asylum seekers must meet the same legal definition, but arrive in the United States under different circumstances.
Lakanwal entered the United States in 2021 and his asylum request was granted earlier this year, while Mr. Trump was in office, a Homeland Security official told CBS News. In his statement, McLaughlin appeared to attribute the shooting suspect’s approval to a Biden-era court settlement that required the federal government to expedite the processing of Afghan asylum cases.
Since the shooting, the Trump administration had already suspended all immigration processing applications of Afghan nationals. An estimated 85,000 Afghans were settled in the United States as part of Operation Allies Welcome following the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. In many cases, they were first housed on military bases and flown to the United States after undergoing treatment.
Mr. Trump posted a video on social media late Wednesday discussing the shooting, calling it “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity.”
Mr. Trump also noted that the suspect came to the United States as part of the Biden-era agenda and pledged to “reexamine every alien who entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden, and we must take every step necessary to ensure the expulsion of any alien from any country who does not belong here, or otherwise benefit our country.”
“No country can tolerate such risk to our country,” Mr. Trump added, while discussing Somali immigrants in Minnesota.
Earlier this week, CBS News reported that the Trump administration ordered immigration officials to examine the cases of refugees admitted under former President Joe Biden, part of an unprecedented effort to identify potential reasons that would prevent them from remaining in the United States
