“At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full and rigorous review of all green cards for all aliens from all countries of concern,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joe Edlow said in a post on Thursday.
Asked for additional details, including which countries are considered “of concern,” USCIS pointed CNN to the 19 countries listed in the president’s June proclamation.
According to CNN, the 19 countries include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
USCIS said in a statement late Thursday that it will consider “country-specific negative factors” when screening immigrants from these 19 countries, including whether the country can “issue secure identification.”
The Trump administration has stepped up efforts to restrict immigration after authorities last night identified the suspect in the shooting as Rahmanullah Rakanwar, an Afghan national.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees USCIS, announced Thursday that the administration is also reviewing all asylum applications approved under former President Joe Biden.
More than 190,000 Afghans have been resettled in the United States since U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, according to the State Department, the report added.
Master’s degree/PR