The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it would review the immigration status of permanent residents, or Green Card holders, from Afghanistan and 18 other countries following a shooting incident in Washington targeting National Guard troops.
The suspect in Wednesday’s attack was identified as an Afghan national who had previously worked with American forces in Afghanistan. He had been granted asylum, not permanent residency, in April of this year, according to AfghanEvac, a group assisting Afghan resettlement after the 2021 Taliban takeover.
Joseph Edlow, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), stated on X that he had directed “a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.” When asked to clarify which countries were affected, a USCIS spokesperson referred to President Donald Trump’s June executive order that classified 19 nations as “of Identified Concern.”
The executive order previously banned the entry of nearly all nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, citing security concerns. These countries are Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
In addition, a partial travel ban applies to nationals from seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Some temporary work visas from these countries remain permissible under the order.
The review will focus on ensuring that all Green Card holders from these 19 countries meet US security requirements and have no links to activities posing risks to national security.
While the administration has not yet provided a timeline for completing the review, the decision reflects heightened scrutiny of immigrants from nations previously designated as high-risk under Trump-era policies.
Officials emphasized that this reexamination applies to permanent residents only and does not affect visitors on temporary visas outside the listed exemptions. The move is part of broader efforts to tighten immigration oversight and address security concerns stemming from recent incidents, signaling continued focus on enforcing executive orders related to immigration and national safety.
