The Trump administration says it will launch a “full-scale, rigorous reexamination” of every green card holder from countries listed as “of concern” after two National Guard soldiers were shot in Washington, DC.
Joseph Edlow, the head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, reported that President Trump had ordered this sweeping review, which is slated to cover green card holders from at least 19 nations.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, who was the suspect in the shooting, arrived in the United States in 2021 from Afghanistan as part of the “Operation Allies Welcome” program that followed the Biden administration’s chaotic pull‑out of the country.
On X, Edlow emphasized, “The protection of this country and of the American people remains paramount, and the American people will not bear the cost of the prior administration’s reckless resettlement policies. American safety is non‑negotiable.”
A tweet from Edlow reads: “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.” (Nov. 27, 2025).
A Trump spokesperson added that the “countries of concern” likely match those named in the president’s June executive order aimed at shielding U.S. citizens from foreign terrorism. Those 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.
Green cards grant foreign residents permanent residence and the ability to work in the U.S. According to State Department data, more than 190,000 Afghans were resettled after the 2021 withdrawal.
The Trump administration had moved quickly after taking office to halt Afghan refugee resettlement, tightening travel restrictions on the war‑torn nation. Earlier this week it announced it was immediately suspending “processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”
Lakanwal previously served in Afghanistan’s elite NDS‑03 counter‑terrorism unit, one of several CIA‑aligned “Zero Units,” according to AfghanEvac, a veteran‑run nonprofit assisting Afghan allies in the U.S. The CIA’s John Ratcliffe confirmed Lakanwal’s work with the agency but did not disclose which unit. His service helped him gain U.S. admission.
In December 2024, he applied for asylum and, under the Trump administration, his petition was approved in April of this year.
Local authorities say that Lakanwal left his home in Washington state—where he lived with his wife and five children—to travel to Washington, DC and carry out the ambush. He allegedly shot West Virginia National Guard members Sarah Beckstrom, 20, who later died, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, who was critically wounded.
He is recovering after a National Guard member returned fire. He faces at least three charges of assault with intent to kill and criminal possession of a weapon, each carrying up to 15 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro warned that Lakanwal will be charged with murder, and Attorney General Pam Bondi pledged that prosecutors will pursue the death penalty.
The Trump team is also reviewing whether to deport Lakanwal’s family. Trump told reporters on Thursday, “We’re looking at the whole situation with the family. It’s a tragic situation.”
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