Washington: The Trump administration unveiled a rigorous reexamination of every green card held by permanent residents from Afghanistan and 18 other nations on Thursday, in direct response to the White House-near shooting by Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow mandated the comprehensive audit targeting countries flagged in President Trump’s June executive order as “of Identified Concern,” including full entry bans on nationals from Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Partial restrictions apply to Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela, amplifying security measures post the 29-year-old suspect’s asylum-granted ambush on National Guard soldiers.
Lakanwal, who collaborated with US forces before resettling via Operation Allies Welcome, ignited this policy pivot amid an FBI terror probe, prompting additional National Guard deployments to the capital and broader immigration scrutiny.
