The United States has revealed its intention to review all green cards granted to citizens of 19 listed nations as part of a sweeping audit of immigration documentation.
This action follows US President Donald Trump’s ongoing immigration clampdown after an incident in which two national guard personnel were shot by a suspect identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal from Afghanistan.
“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,” Joe Edlow, the director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), wrote in an X post on Thursday.
“The protection of this country and of the American people remains paramount, and the American people will not bear the cost of the prior administration’s reckless resettlement policies. American safety is non negotiable.”
The affected nations include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
USCIS stated that when processing applications involving citizens from these countries, officials will now consider “negative, country specific factors”, including each nation’s capacity “to issue secure identity documents”.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) disclosed that all immigration applications linked to Afghan nationals will be paused until a further review of screening and security measures is completed, with the directive taking immediate effect.
The department added that asylum cases approved under former President Joe Biden’s administration are also under reassessment.
Lakanwal reportedly arrived in the United States in 2021 through a programme designed to protect Afghans following the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan. Officials confirmed he had previously worked with the CIA during his time in the country.