Trump administration to examine green cards from 19 countries following attack on two National Guard soldiers

The Administration of President Donald Trump said Thursday it will re-examine green cards linked to 19 nations after a citizen of Afghanistan named Rahmanullah Lakanwal shot two National Guard members outside a Metro station a few blocks from the White House in Washington D. C. on Wednesday. U.S. authorities determined that the Afghan national entered the country in September 2021 through the "Operation Allies Welcome" program.

"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 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," US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow wrote in a post on his X account.

Which countries are in question?

On Wednesday, Trump and Vice President J. D. Vance sharply criticized the Democratic administration of former President Joe Biden for allowing refugees from Afghanistan with its immigration policies, while USCIS immediately suspended any and all immigration applications from citizens of that country. "I remember in 2021 criticizing Biden's policy of opening the floodgates to Afghan refugees without vetting. Friends sent me messages calling me a racist. It was an eye-opening moment. They should not have been in our country," Vance said.

Last June, the U.S. government listed 19 countries it considered of concern with restrictions on entry into the country. These were Venezuela, Turkmenistan, Togo, Sierra Leone, Laos, Cuba, Burundi, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Iran, Haiti, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of Congo, Chad, Burma and Afghanistan.