US to Review Every Green Card Holder from 19 Countries After Capitol Attack

The Trump administration on Thursday announced a sweeping review of the immigration status of all Green Card holders from Afghanistan and 18 other countries, following the deadly attack on National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.

Officials have identified the detained suspect in Wednesday’s shooting as a 29-year-old Afghan national who previously worked with U.S. forces in Afghanistan. He was granted asylum, not permanent residency, in April this year, according to AfghanEvac, a volunteer group involved in resettling Afghans after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

“I have directed a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said on X.

When asked which countries were under review, a USCIS spokesperson referred AFP to President Donald Trump’s June executive order designating 19 nations as ‘Countries of Identified Concern.’ The order barred entry for nearly all nationals from 12 of those countries, including Afghanistan.

The other nations facing full travel bans were: Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Trump also imposed partial restrictions on travelers from seven additional countries — Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela — allowing only certain temporary work visas.