The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it will conduct a comprehensive review of the immigration status of all U.S. permanent residents originating from Afghanistan and 18 other designated countries. The decision follows an attack on National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.
Federal officials said the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting is a 29-year-old Afghan national who once worked with American forces in Afghanistan. According to AfghanEvac — a group supporting Afghans resettled in the U.S. after the Taliban’s 2021 takeover — the man had been granted asylum earlier this year, not a Green Card.
Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), stated on X that he has ordered a “full-scale, rigorous reexamination” of all Green Cards issued to citizens of countries considered security risks.
The review stems from a June executive order by President Trump identifying 19 nations as “countries of Identified Concern.” The order placed a near-total entry ban on citizens from 12 of these nations, including Afghanistan.
Countries under full entry ban:
Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen.
Countries facing partial travel restrictions:
Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela.
