HAMILTON, Canada

The head of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced Thursday that the agency has launched a sweeping review of green card holders from "countries of concern" following a directive from President Donald Trump.

"At the direction of President Donald Trump, I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern," Joseph Edlow said on the US social media company X’s platform.

Saying that "the protection of this country and of the American people remains paramount," Edlow noted that "the American people will not bear the cost of the prior administration's reckless resettlement policies."

"American safety is non-negotiable," he added.

Edlow's statement came after two members of the US National Guard were shot and critically wounded in the nation's capital Washington, DC, on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Authorities identified the suspected gunman as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national, who was taken into custody after Wednesday's attack.

USCIS previously announced that it had paused all immigration processing for Afghan nationals, issuing the statement shortly after the shooting. The agency did not say when processing might resume.

Lakanwal previously worked with multiple US government agencies, including the CIA, during the US war in Afghanistan, according to intelligence officials cited by Fox News.

The two National Guard members, Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, both from West Virginia, remain in critical condition following the shooting.