“The safety of the American people is always our priority,” said the director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
LIMA, Peru – The United States Government announced the suspension of decisions on asylum applications in the country until each foreigner can be exhaustively scrutinized by the authorities.
The news follows an attack that occurred near the White House this week, where an Afghan shot two members of the National Guard, killing one, barely 20 years old, and leaving the other in serious condition.
“USCIS has suspended all asylum decisions until we can ensure that each alien is investigated and evaluated to the highest level possible,” announced from X (formerly Twitter) Joseph B. Edlow, director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
“The safety of the American people is always our priority,” the manager highlighted in the publication.
This new decision affects thousands of Cubans in the United States and foreign applicants of other nationalities whose cases could be delayed.
Also this week, USCIS announced that it will conduct a massive review of all permanent resident cards (green cards) issued to immigrants from so-called “countries of concern,” by direct order of President Donald Trump.
Neither Edlow nor the White House have yet released the official list of “countries of concern.” However, USCIS responded to NBCNews that the countries considered “of concern” were the 19 listed in a presidential proclamation issued in June.
The shooting in Washington
The tightening coincides with the attack this Wednesday in central Washington, when two members of the West Virginia National Guard were seriously injured near the Farragut West metro station, less than 500 meters from the White House.
The suspect was identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan who arrived in the United States in 2021 under special evacuation programs following the withdrawal of US troops from his country, known as Operation Allies Refuge/Allies Welcome.
The case is being investigated by the FBI as a possible act of terrorism, and the Department of Justice is studying charges that could include the death penalty, according to international media.
Trump reacted immediately. On his social networks he described the aggressor as an “animal” and assured that “he will pay a very high price” for the attack, while highlighting that the Afghan entered the country during the Biden Administration. At the same time, the Government suspended the processing of new immigration cases of Afghans while the security and investigation protocols are reviewed, according to a USCIS statement obtained by CBS News.
The “countries of concern” formula is not new. The Trump Administration has been using it in internal and public documents to refer to States whose authorities, in Washington’s opinion, do not offer sufficient guarantees in terms of security cooperation, exchange of information or control of documents.
On June 4, Trump signed a proclamation that reinstated and expanded the immigration ban to citizens of 12 countries — including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen — and applied additional restrictions to seven others, including Cuba and Venezuela.
Although the veto did not cancel the green cards already issued, it did introduce a regime of reinforced surveillance on travelers and visa applicants from those nations. Now, Edlow’s new order focuses precisely on those who already have permanent residence, and does so using the same category of “countries of concern.”
Specialized media and immigration portals that have had access to drafts and internal memoranda of the Department of Homeland Security have been indicating that the Administration plans to tighten access to green cardsasylum and parole for nationals of the countries included in Trump’s immigration veto.
