Washington, Nov 27. The U.S. government has included Cubans and Venezuelans in the list of 19 nationalities from 'countries of concern' that will undergo a 'rigorous review' of their resident cards, or 'green cards,' the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed to EFE on Thursday. When asked about the new order to review the residency of 'all' migrants from 'risk' nations following the shooting at the National Guard in Washington, USCIS shared an email with the decree signed by President Donald Trump in June to ban or restrict travel from 19 countries. This executive order prohibits the entry of citizens from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen for 'national security' reasons, and also restricts entry from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. These same 19 countries are now covered by the new review announced on Thursday by USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow, following the attack that left two National Guard members injured in Washington, D.C., where the suspected perpetrator was a 29-year-old Afghan, Rahmanullah Lakanwal. 'Under the direction of @POTUS (the President of the United States), I have ordered a rigorous, large-scale review of every resident card of every foreign national from every country of concern,' Edlow informed on X. The same agency had announced the suspension of immigration applications for Afghans on Wednesday, minutes after a national address by Trump, who blamed his predecessor Joe Biden's (2021-2025) immigration policies for Lakanwal's entry and the subsequent attack. 'The protection of this country and the American people remains paramount, and the American people will not bear the cost of the previous administration's reckless resettlement policies,' Edlow concluded. This new order represents additional immigration restrictions for Cubans and Venezuelans, communities that supported Trump in the 2024 elections. The president has previously called for an end to the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and the 'humanitarian parole' program for Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians, and other nationalities. After Wednesday's shooting near the White House, which left two National Guard agents in critical condition, Trump denounced it as 'an act of hate' and promised to toughen immigration measures. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed on Thursday morning that Lakanwal worked for a CIA-backed military unit in Afghanistan and moved to the United States in 2021 under the 'Operation Allies Welcome' program, which supported Afghan citizens after the U.S. military withdrawal from the country.
