US ramps up Green Card reviews after Washington DC shooting

The Trump administration has ordered a full review of permanent residency status — so-called “Green Cards” — of immigrants from 19 countries, in the wake of the attack on two US National Guard personnel in Washington, DC.

An Afghan national who entered the US in 2021 after working with American military and intelligence services in Afghanistan has been arrested in connection with Wednesday’s shooting near the White House.

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump confirmed the death of one of the two National Guard members who was shot.

Joseph Edlow, director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said on X: “I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.”

The Trump administration on Wednesday had already halted the processing of immigration applications from Afghanistan in the wake of the shooting.

Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Cuba, Venezuela among countries listed

The full-scale review of residency status, at the behest of President Donald Trump and carried out by the USCIS, comes after the suspect from Wednesday’s shooting was identified as Afghan national Rahmanullah L.

The 19 countries under scrutiny were named in a June proclamation, which had initially imposed entry restrictions on nationals from states deemed deficient in screening and vetting protocols.

Among the countries listed are Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen, as well as Cuba, Venezuela, Chad, and Eritrea.

Critics warn the policy risks penalizing hundreds of thousands of lawful permanent residents based solely on nationality.

Whether the review will lead to revocations or deportations remains unclear.

For now, the administration frames it as a protective measure aimed at national security in light of the DC attack.