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U.S. Orders Sweeping Review of Green Cards from 19 “Countries of Concern” After D.C. Shooting

Nov 28, 2025, 2:29 a.m. ET

The United States will conduct a comprehensive review of all green cards issued to individuals from 19 “countries of concern,” following a directive from U.S. President Donald Trump, as his administration escalates its immigration crackdown in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C.

“At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” Joe Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said Thursday in a post on X

When asked for further details—including which countries fall under this designation—USCIS referred CNN to a list of 19 nations identified in a June presidential proclamation.

The countries are: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

In a separate statement, USCIS said immigrant vetting for individuals from these countries will now incorporate “negative, country-specific factors,” such as each nation’s ability to produce “secure identity documents.”

The directive comes as the Trump administration intensifies its immigration restrictions after officials identified the suspect in the D.C. shooting as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national.

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