The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Friday that it is creating a specialized unit to screen foreigners attempting to come to the U.S., in order to weed out applicants who pose a potential threat to public safety. 

The latest move comes in the aftermath of an alleged terror attack last week by an Afghan national, who killed a female West Virginia National Guard member near the White House, and injured a male guardsman. 

The USCIS said the vetting center will be headquartered in Atlanta, and will use classified and nonclassified screening and vetting capabilities to provide a more thorough supplemental review of immigration applications and petitions.

“USCIS’ role in the nation’s immigration system has never been more critical," USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said. "In the wake of several recent incidents of violence, including a foreign national attacking National Guard service members on U.S. soil, establishing this vetting center will give us more enhanced capabilities to safeguard national security and ensure public safety.

“Under the Biden administration, [USCIS] was pushed to expedite the immigration and naturalization processes with little regard for how that affected national security and the safety of our communities,” he continued. “We changed that approach on day one of the Trump administration. Under President Trump, we are building more protective measures that ensure fraud, deception, and threats do not breach the integrity of our immigration system.”

The move comes the day after the agency announced it was limiting the length of time that Employment Authorization Documents are valid for noncitizens to just 18 months, instead of five years, over ongoing security concerns. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.