The United States under the presidency of Mr Donald Trump has announced plans to review the immigration status of every permanent resident or Green Card holder from Afghanistan and 18 other countries following the attack on National Guard troops in Washington.
US officials have identified the detained suspect in Wednesday’s shooting as an Afghan national who previously worked with American forces in Afghanistan.
According to reports, the 29-year-old suspect was granted asylum in April this year, according to AfghanEvac, a group that helped resettle Afghans in the United States after the 2021 Taliban takeover.
“I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” said Mr Joseph Edlow, director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), on X.
The 19 countries affected are those President Donald Trump’s June executive order classified as “of Identified Concern.”
The order banned entry of almost all nationals from 12 of the countries, including Afghanistan.
The 11 other countries facing a travel ban were: Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
President Trump also imposed a partial ban on travelers from seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Some temporary work visas from those countries are allowed.
There had heightened fears that Nigeria would be included following recent interventionist effort in the security situation in the country.
Earlier this month, President Trump said the US would begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria over the failure of the Nigerian government to halt “persecution of Christians”
He had also designated Nigeria as a country of particular concern, claiming that christianity is facing an existential threat in the country, saying radical Islamists are responsible for it.
The designation was rebuffed by President Bola Tinubu, who said Nigeria is a country that values religious freedom and tolerance.
“Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it. Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths.”