President Donald Trump charged the federal agency that oversees legal immigration in the United States to conduct a thorough review of green card holders from countries the administration calls problematic, the head of US Citizenship and Immigration Services said Thursday.
“At the direction of the President of the United States, I have directed a full and thorough re-examination of every green card for every alien from every country of concern,” USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said Thursday afternoon. in a statement regarding X.
Edlow said protecting the country “remains of paramount importance” and that “the American people will not bear the consequences of the previous administration's reckless resettlement policies.”
When asked for details on which countries are considered “of concern,” USCIS pointed to a June report. presidential declaration listing 19 countries “considered to be insufficient in terms of verification and verification.” Afghanistan is one of the countries on the list, which also includes Haiti, Iran and Venezuela.
Thursday's announcement came the day after A shooting near the White House left two National Guard members in critical condition. Federal prosecutors say the suspect, an Afghan national who once helped U.S. troops, was resettled in the U.S. under a program called Operation Ally Welcome during the Biden administration following the 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said Thursday morning that her office is reviewing the suspect's immigration history and the vetting process that allowed him to enter the country.
The suspect was granted asylum in April this year.
Two members of the West Virginia National Guard, identified as Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolf, 24, remain in critical condition after the attack. They were in Washington as part of Trump's deployment of federal troops in several US cities.
In a video released by the White House, Trump called the attack an “act of terrorism” and said more National Guard troops would be deployed to Washington.
The administration announced this shortly after Trump's speech. What All immigration requests involving Afghan nationals will be suspended indefinitely.
Authorities have not given a motive, but D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said “this is a targeted shooting” and that the suspect appeared to be targeting members of the security detail.
Four senior law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation said the suspect was identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
Talking to NBC News A relative of Lakanwala said Wednesday that he arrived in the United States in September 2021 after serving 10 years in the Afghan Army with U.S. Special Forces. Lakanwal lived in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and five children, a relative said.
“We were the ones targeted by the Taliban in Afghanistan,” the relative said. “I can't believe he could do this.”
CIA Representative said Thursday that the alleged shooter “previously worked with the U.S. government, including the CIA, as a member of the partner force in Kandahar, which ended in 2021 following the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.”
