The United States government has begun a sweeping re-evaluation of all green cards issued to citizens of 19 countries, as part of a renewed push to tighten immigration checks.
The review follows the recent killing of two National Guard members by Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan migrant, an incident that has intensified President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“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, posted on X 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.”
Countries listed for review 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. Nigeria is not among them.
USCIS said the reassessment will consider “negative, country specific factors,” including the ability of each country to issue reliable identity documents.
The Department of Homeland Security also announced an immediate suspension of all immigration processing for Afghan nationals while it reevaluates security and vetting procedures. It added that asylum cases approved under former President Joe Biden are being reviewed.
Lakanwal entered the United States in 2021 under a special immigration pathway created for Afghans after the withdrawal of American troops. Authorities later confirmed he had worked with the CIA during the operations in Afghanistan.
