Trump administration gives warning to green card holders from these 19 countries following National Guard shooting

The Trump administration has confirmed it will re-examine green cards issued to people who migrated to the US from 19 countries after the November 26 shooting of two National Guard members.

The head of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Joseph Edlow revealed in a social media post that Donald Trump had asked him to conduct ‘a full scale, rigorous re-examination of every green card for every alien from every country of concern’.

The announcement by the USCIS came just one day of Rahmanullah Lakanwal being arrested as a suspect in the killing of 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and serious wounding of Andrew Wolfe, 24, near the White House.

“At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full scale, rigorous re-examination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” Edlow said in a statement on X.

A green card is a document which allows someone permanent residency in the US.

They are usually only revoked by immigration judges in the most serious of circumstances, such as if the holder is found guilty of murder or rape.

It came as Trump vowed on Truth Social on Thursday (November 27) to 'permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions' - without specifying which countries he meant.

He also promised to 'denaturalise migrants who undermine domestic tranquillity, and deport any foreign national who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western civilisation'.

Which countries will have green cards 're-examined'?

In re-evaluating green cards, the USCIS will be using a June proclamation by the White House, that pointed to a number of countries of interest to be looked into.

The proclamation cited foreign policy, national security and immigration issues as the reasons for imposing restrictions on people from these countries.

Trump banned visas for anyone from the following countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

The POTUS also decided to ‘partially restrict and limit the entry of nationals’ from Cuba, Burundi, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

Per reports, Lakanwal is of Afghanistan decent, who came to the US in 2021 under a programme that allowed special immigration protection to Afghans after America withdrew its forces from Afghanistan.

Federal prosecutors say the suspect once assisted the CIA, per the BBC, and resettled in the US under the Operation Allies Welcome programme.

The announcement by Edlow didn’t mention the attack in his reasoning for restricting the nations.

Trump’s reaction to the news of the shooting was swift, as he claimed it was the highlighted the ‘greatest national security threat facing our nation’.

Just last week, the agency also announced a review of all refugees admitted under former President Joe Biden.

UNILAD has reached out to the White House for comment.