Green card applications from “countries of concern” will be reviewed after an Afghan national was named as a suspect in a National Guard shooting.
US President Donald Trump announced plans to suspend immigration from “all Third World countries” a day after an Afghan national was named as a suspect in the shooting death of two National Guardsmen in Washington, DC.
President Trump’s announcement is the latest in a series of tightening restrictions on entry into the United States, after he previously ordered the U.S. government to review all green card applications from 19 “countries of concern” in the wake of the mass shooting in Washington, D.C.
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In a post on his platform Truth Social on Thursday, President Trump said he would “permanently halt immigration from all third world countries to fully restore America’s system and end all illegal immigration of millions of Bidens.”
Although he did not define the term “Third World,” the term usually refers to developing countries in the Global South.
President Trump also said he would “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States or incapable of loving our country.”
He added that all federal benefits and subsidies for “noncitizens” will end, “we will denaturalize immigrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and we will deport foreigners who are publicly responsible, pose a security risk, or are incompatible with Western civilization.”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Secretary Joseph Edlow said earlier Thursday that he had ordered “a full and rigorous review of all green cards for all aliens from all countries of concern” “at the direction” of President Trump.
“Protecting this country and its people remains our top priority, and Americans will not bear the costs of the previous administration’s reckless resettlement policies,” Edlow said.
Edlow did not elaborate on which countries applicants would be reviewed, but his office directed The Associated Press to a June 4 presidential proclamation restricting nationals from 19 countries from entering the United States. The list includes Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Myanmar, Venezuela and Yemen.
Citizenship and Immigration Services had previously announced that all Afghan immigration applications would be suspended indefinitely “pending further review of our security and vetting procedures.”
The immigration restrictions came after Janine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C., identified the suspect in the National Guard shooting as Rahmanaullah Rakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who served with U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Pirro said Lakhanwal came to the United States under a program known as Operation Welcoming Allies following the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. She said federal authorities, including the FBI, will investigate his immigration history and vetting process.
The Trump administration has already taken aggressive steps to limit immigration to the United States. In October, the country announced it would take in just 7,500 refugees in 2026, the lowest number since 1980.
The U.S. government is also in the midst of a major review of recent U.S. refugee arrivals, according to a memo signed by Edlow and obtained by The Associated Press on Monday.
The memo orders the review of about 200,000 refugees admitted to the United States under President Joe Biden’s administration, according to the Associated Press.
It would also suspend green card applications for refugees who came to the United States during that period.
