The United States government has initiated a comprehensive reexamination of all green cards issued to nationals from 19 designated countries following a deadly shooting incident in Washington DC that left two National Guard members wounded.
Administration Orders Full-Scale Review
President Donald Trump's administration announced the sweeping immigration review on Thursday, November 28, 2025, directing US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to scrutinize every green card from countries identified as "of concern." The decision comes in response to the shooting allegedly carried out by Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who had previously worked with US government agencies including the CIA.
USCIS Director Joe Edlow confirmed the action through a social media post, stating: "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."
List of Affected Countries
The 19 nations subject to the green card review were identified through a June presidential proclamation and include:
- Afghanistan
- Burma
- Chad
- Republic of the Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Libya
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Yemen
- Burundi
- Cuba
- Laos
- Sierra Leone
- Togo
- Turkmenistan
- Venezuela
Immigration officials revealed that the agency will now consider "negative, country specific factors" during vetting processes, including whether a country can issue secure identity documents.
Shooting Suspect Background and Immediate Consequences
The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, arrived in the United States in 2021 under President Joe Biden's "Operation Allies Welcome" program after previously collaborating with US intelligence services. He applied for asylum in 2024 and received approval from the Trump administration in April 2025.
According to a US official speaking with CNN, Lakanwal had been "clean on all checks" before working with the government and again before entering the country.
In response to the incident, the Department of Homeland Security immediately halted all immigration processing for Afghan nationals. Tricia McLaughlin, DHS Assistant Secretary, confirmed: "Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols."
Political Fallout and Community Response
President Trump addressed the nation from Mar-a-Lago, blaming his predecessor's policies for allowing the alleged shooter into the country. He characterized the attack as underscoring "the single greatest national security threat facing our nation" and called for reexamination of every Afghan national who entered under Biden's administration.
The Afghan community in the United States expressed concern about potential collective punishment. The Alliance of Afghan Communities condemned the shooting while cautioning that "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."
According to State Department figures, more than 190,000 Afghans have resettled in the United States since the military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
The green card review represents part of the Trump administration's broader immigration policy stance, marking a significant shift in how the United States evaluates permanent residency applications from designated nations.
