Trump administration pauses all immigration applications from Afghans after National Guard shooting in D.C.
Federal immigration authorities said Wednesday they had suspended processing applications from Afghan nationals, after a man who entered the United States from Afghanistan was identified as the suspect in a shooting that injured two members of the National Guard in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a statement that “processing of all immigration applications involving Afghan nationals is paused indefinitely pending further review of security and screening protocols,” effective immediately.
The announcement came shortly after the Department of Homeland Security publicly announced 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 United States in 2021 as part of a Biden-era initiative for Afghans called Operation Allies Welcome.
President Trump said in his remarks after the shooting: “We must now reexamine every alien who entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden, and we must take every step necessary to ensure the expulsion of any alien from any country who does not belong here or who does not benefit our country.”
The US military evacuated tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan in 2021, as America’s two-decade war in the country ended with the Taliban returning to power.
More than 85,000 Afghans have been settled in the United States as part of Operation Allies Welcome. In many cases, they were first housed on military bases and flown to the United States after undergoing treatment.
Many Afghan nationals qualified for special immigrant visas, a type of permanent visa offered to people employed by the U.S. government – including military interpreters who we often fear reprisals Taliban for helping American forces. This program was plagued by years of arrearsHowever.
Others from Afghanistan have requested asylum – offered to people fleeing persecution – or visas. based on being family members American citizens or green card holders.
And many have benefited from less permanent protections, such as compassionate parole and temporary protected status, placing them in an uncertain situation. no clear path to permanent residency unless they qualify for another immigration status.
A Department of Homeland Security official told CBS News that the shooting suspect was released to the United States on humanitarian grounds in 2021. Lakanwal then applied for asylum with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in 2024 and his request was granted in 2025, the DHS official said. But his application for a green card, linked to the granting of the right to asylum, is in progress.
More than 8,000 people from Afghanistan also benefited from deportation under a separate program called temporary protected status, which Biden extended into 2023, but Mr. Trump chose to finish earlier this year.
Members of both political parties have expressed support for helping Afghans who have aided U.S. forces, and the Biden administration has emphasized that those entering the United States first undergo security screening. But some Republican officials have long questioned whether the vetting processes were rigorous enough or comprehensive enough.
The nonprofit AfghanEvac condemned Wednesday’s attack in a statement, but urged people “not to demonize the Afghan community for this person’s deranged choice.” The group said immigrants from Afghanistan “experience some of the most extensive security screening of any population entering the country.”
“Those who would hijack this moment to attack Afghan families are not seeking safety or justice: they are exploiting division and putting us all at risk,” said AfghanEvac President Shawn VanDiver.
