Trump Pauses Migration from ‘3rd World’ Countries

Trump’s comments came following a deadly ambush on two National Guard members near the White House on Wednesday, which investigators say was carried out by Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal.

Lakanwal, 29, entered the US in 2021 from Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Biden administration’s withdrawal as part of the “Operation Allies Welcome” program.

The alleged gunman served in the elite NDS-03 counterterrorism unit in Afghanistan, one of at least five paramilitary “Zero Units” that worked with the CIA, according to the group AfghanEvac, a nonprofit run by American veterans helping resettle Afghan allies in the US, but not Lakanwal.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed Lakanwal worked with the intelligence agency. His service to the US helped him get admittance.

Lakanwal had applied for asylum in December 2024 and later got approval under the Trump administration in April of this year.

The announcement follows the Trump administration launching a review of more than 720,000 current green-card holders from 19 “countries of concern”

DHS data tracks new annual green-card grants by nationality, allowing for a rough calculation of the population most likely under review.

Of the more than 720,000 people with lawful permanent residency from the 19 countries who gained status between fiscal years 2021 and 2025, the largest number are from Cuba (335,186), Afghanistan (123,017), Venezuela (73,900), Haiti (49,900) and Iran (35,853).

War-torn nations with current or historical links to terrorism are well-represented, including Yemen (25,457 green cards issued in the past five years), Sudan (12,218), Somalia (6,669) and Libya (2,228).

Others on the green-card review list include Burma (17,126), Burundi (6,323), Chad (838), the Republic of the Congo (2,704), Equatorial Guinea (196), Eritrea (8,094), Laos (2,762), Sierra Leone (7,220), Togo (7,914) and Turkmenistan (2,620).