Trump administration pauses all immigration applications from Afghans after National Guard shooting in D.C.
Source: CBS News
Updated on: November 27, 2025 / 1:10 AM EST / CBS News
Federal immigration authorities said Wednesday they have paused processing requests from Afghan nationals, after a man who entered the U.S. from Afghanistan was identified as the suspect in a shooting that wounded two National Guard members in Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a statement that the "processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols," effective immediately.
The announcement came shortly after the Department of Homeland Security announced publicly that the suspected shooter who was shot by a Guard member and is now in custody was a man named Rahmanullah Lakanwal who entered the U.S. in 2021 under a Biden-era initiative for Afghans called Operation Allies Welcome.
President Trump said in remarks following the shooting: "We must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden, and we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here or add benefit to our country." The U.S. military evacuated tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan in 2021, as the United States' two-decade-long war in the country ended with the Taliban returning to power.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pauses-immigration-applications-afghanistan-national-guard-shooting-dc/
William Seger
(12,088 posts)It's like removing Temporary Protected Status from all Somali immigrants because some (different) Somalis committed welfare fraud (which immigrants can't receive).
ybbor
(1,691 posts)You get a State Dinner!
pfitz59
(12,159 posts)and let the troops spend holidays with their families.
travelingthrulife
(3,977 posts)Bayard
(27,993 posts)One guy loses his mind, and now his whole country has to pay for it. Kind of like our own situation in this country.