Pakistani immigration to US hits pause, but spared Trump green card wrath

Complete security audit ordered of green card holders from 19 countries following attack on National Guard personnel

Pakistanis in the middle of or hoping to immigrate to the United States will face a "permanent pause" in immigration as President Donald Trump pulled the plug after a man of Afghan origin shot and killed a member of the National Guard on Thursday.

The US will pause immigration from all "third world" countries, Trump stated in a social media post.

The Head of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, stated on X that green card holders from 19 countries will be audited. Pakistan is not on the list, which includes Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Congo, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Venezuela, along with several African and Asian states.

At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.

— USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow (@USCISJoe) November 27, 2025

Trump’s reaction was posted to his social media platform shortly after the 29-year-old Rahmanullah Laknawal reportedly fired shots killing 20-year-old Sarah Backstrom and critically injuring official Andrew Wolfe.

President Trump alleged that during former President Joe Biden’s tenure immigrants entered America without proper screening. In his post on the Truth Social platform he said, “I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s Autopen.”

Additionally, federal benefits will end for all such non-citizens and the citizenship of immigrants will be revoked if they are considered a threat to America. All individuals who "do not align with Western civilisation" will be deported, he added.