Green Cards in Question: Who’s on the US Watchlist?

AFP

Washington: 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 an attack on National Guard troops in Washington.

US officials confirmed that the suspect detained in Wednesday’s shooting is an Afghan national who had previously worked with American forces in Afghanistan. According to AfghanEvac — a volunteer group that assisted with Afghan resettlement after the 2021 Taliban takeover — the 29-year-old man was granted asylum, not permanent residency, in April this year.

“I have directed a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” Joseph Edlow, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said on X.

When asked which countries were under review, a USCIS spokesperson referred AFP to President Donald Trump’s June executive order that designated 19 countries as “of Identified Concern.”

Under that order, the US imposed a full travel ban on nationals of 12 countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

A partial ban was also applied to seven others: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

Some categories of temporary work visas from these countries remain permitted.

The announcement comes amid heightened scrutiny of immigration protocols following the Washington attack.