Friday, November 28, 2025 - 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.
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