The U.S. government has launched a wide review of green cards issued to people from 19 nations, saying it will re-check each case for security concerns after a deadly shooting in Washington, D.C.
What’s happening
At President Donald Trump’s direction, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is re-examining every green card held by people from 19 countries listed in a June presidential proclamation. USCIS director Joe Edlow announced the move on X, calling it a “full scale, rigorous reexamination.”
Which countries are affected
USCIS pointed to a list of 19 countries that the administration regards as “of concern.” They include Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Why now
The review was triggered by a recent shooting in Washington, D.C., in which officials identified the suspect as an Afghan national who had entered the U.S. after helping the U.S. in Afghanistan. The administration says it wants to check whether people from those countries meet security and identity standards and whether their paperwork was issued securely.
What the review looks at
USCIS said it will pay special attention to “country-specific negative factors” for example, whether a government can reliably issue secure identity documents. The Department of Homeland Security also announced an immediate pause on processing immigration requests related to Afghan nationals while it reviews vetting procedures.
What else the administration is doing
Officials said they are also reviewing asylum approvals that happened under the previous administration. DHS said it will review cases approved during President Joe Biden’s term.
Reactions and concerns
Advocacy groups and community leaders warned against sweeping actions that punish many people for the acts of one individual. The Alliance of Afghan Communities in the United States urged officials not to let a single crime derail the legal immigration cases of thousands of Afghans who helped the U.S. and followed the rules.
Numbers and context
Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, more than 190,000 Afghans have been resettled in the United States, according to State Department figures.
Bottom line
The administration frames this step as a national-security measure; critics see it as another broad, punitive move that will slow already complex immigration processes and affect many people who arrived legally. The review is just getting started, and officials say more details will come as the checks proceed.
