The Trump administration on Thursday stated that the U.S. would now reexamine green cards tied to 19 "countries of concern" after an Afghan evacuee gunned down two West Virginia National Guard members just blocks from the White House.
Trump Orders Sweeping Review Of Green Cards
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow said on X that, "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."
He added in a follow-up post, "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."
USCIS earlier announced on X, "Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols. The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission."
A June memo had barred nearly all immigration and travel from 19 targeted nations, including Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Venezuela. As of Tuesday, the administration had already ordered USCIS to re-interview roughly 200,000 refugees whose protections could be revoked, according to an internal directive.
Suspected Afghan Shooter Previously Tied To Elite Unit
Authorities have identified the suspected shooter as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan who arrived in 2021 under the Biden-era Operation Allies Welcome program and previously served in a CIA-backed counterterrorism unit.
Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News on Thursday that prosecutors will seek the death penalty. FBI Director Kash Patel, meanwhile, said, "This subject had a relationship in Afghanistan with partner forces," and vowed to investigate "any known associates that are either overseas or who are here in the United States of America," according to a report by NPR.
Afghan Resettlement Data Fuels Intensifying Political Clash
Operation Allies Welcome brought roughly 76,000–90,000 Afghans to the United States after the Kabul airlift, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Federal watchdogs later faulted gaps in data and vetting during the rushed evacuation, even as they credited agencies for catching some security risks.
Long-term data from the nonpartisan Cato Institute show that the annual chance of an American being killed by a refugee terrorist on U.S. soil is about 1 in 3.3 billion, highlighting that such attacks remain rare.
President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance argue the risk is still unacceptable. "I remember back in 2021 criticizing the Biden policy of opening the floodgate to unvetted Afghan refugees," Vance said in an X post on Thursday. "They shouldn't have been in our country."
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