The Trump administration is intensifying its immigration crackdown, announcing a reexamination of all green cards issued to nationals from 19 “countries of concern.”
This directive from US President Donald Trump follows the recent shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC.
Nigeria, recently classified as a Country of Particular concern by the Trump administration, is exempt from the move.
Joe Edlow, the director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), announced the move, stating on X, “At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.”
The 19 nations identified as “countries of concern” include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. These countries were initially listed in a June presidential proclamation.
USCIS clarified in a subsequent statement that the vetting process will now consider “negative, country specific factors” for immigrants from these nations, including a country’s ability to “issue secure identity documents.”
The administration has ramped up its efforts to restrict immigration since the suspect in the shooting was identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees USCIS, also announced a review of all asylum cases approved under the former Biden administration.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated that, “Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”
She reiterated the administration’s focus, adding, “The Trump Administration is also reviewing all asylum cases approved under the Biden Administration.”
The suspect, who previously worked with the US government, including the CIA, arrived in the country in 2021 through the Biden administration’s “Operation Allies Welcome” after assisting the US in Afghanistan. He applied for asylum in 2024, which was granted by the Trump administration in April 2025.
On Thursday, the Alliance of Afghan Communities in the United States condemned the shooting but expressed deep concern over the impact the suspect’s actions would have on the immigration process for other Afghan nationals.
The alliance’s statement called for federal agencies to process Afghan immigrants without delays, arguing, “A single individual’s crime must not jeopardize or obstruct the legal cases of thousands of deserving Afghans who meet all U.S. legal requirements.”
More than 190,000 Afghans have resettled in the United States since the US military withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, according to the State Department.
While a green card grants lawful permanent residency in the US, it differs from refugee and asylum programs—which the administration has already sought to limit—though refugees are required to apply for a green card after one year of residency in the country.