After authorities identified an Afghan national as the alleged shooter in a Washington, D.C., attack that killed one National Guard member and critically injured another, the Trump administration announced a halt to asylum decisions. Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the agency is pausing decisions “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.” He added on X that “the safety of the American people always comes first.”
The announcement follows President Trump’s vow to tighten immigration from what he described as “third world” countries. On Truth Social, the president called for a “permanent[] pause” on migration from those countries “to allow the U.S. system to fully recover” and urged what he termed “REVERSE MIGRATION.” In public remarks and on social media he criticized immigrants from poorer nations, accusing them of straining welfare systems and other social services.
The administration has already pursued more aggressive deportation measures, returning some migrants to their countries of origin and sending others to third countries that agreed — sometimes for payment — to accept them. Recent actions cited by officials include deporting Venezuelans to El Salvador, relocating migrants to Eswatini and South Sudan, and arrangements to transfer people to Rwanda.
Edlow said he had been ordered to conduct “a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” though he did not identify which countries would be included. A June White House proclamation previously imposed travel restrictions on 12 countries of concern, naming nations such as Chad, Sudan and Somalia as well as Afghanistan; seven additional countries faced partial limits.
The Department of Homeland Security told CNN it had already stopped processing immigration requests from Afghanistan and was reviewing “all” asylum cases approved during the Biden administration. DHS declined to provide further comment when asked.
Reporting identified the suspected shooter as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan who reportedly worked with the CIA against the Taliban and was admitted to the United States in 2021 because of that service. In a Thanksgiving Day call with service members, President Trump called the shooting a terrorist act, described the suspect as a “savage monster,” and blamed the Biden administration for the individual’s entry and for broader immigration failures.
Trump expanded his criticism to immigrants generally, accusing some of gang activity or other problems and saying, when asked whether he blamed all Afghans, “No, but there’s a lot of problems with Afghans.” He also reiterated longstanding criticisms of Somali immigrants, alleging trouble in some communities and saying Somali groups in Minnesota were “roving the streets looking for ‘prey.'”
U.N. officials warned against sweeping halts to asylum and other protections. “They are entitled to protection under international law, and that should be given due process,” U.N. human rights office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said in Geneva, urging that international obligations be respected even as security reviews proceed.