Afghans in US issue plea to Trump after ‘tragic’ Washington DC shooting

Afghans living in the United States condemned the “extremely tragic” deadly shooting in Washington DC on Wednesday, emphasizing that the suspect, who moved to the United States from Afghanistan four years ago, did not represent them.

The alleged gunman, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, entered the United States under a program that offers special immigration protection to Afghans working with the United States following the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan in 2021.

While 20-year-old National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom died in Wednesday’s shooting, her colleague Andrew Wolfe, 24, is said to be fighting for his life.

In response, US President Donald Trump halted the processing of all immigration requests from Afghans, ordered a review of green cards issued to individuals from 19 countries, and threatened a broader crackdown on immigrants from what he called “third world countries.”

The United States Afghan Community Coalition expressed sympathy for the victims’ families and called for a “thorough investigation” but called on the U.S. government not to delay or suspend Afghan immigration requests.

In the coalition’s statement, it was said, “The twenty-year Afghan-US partnership should not be forgotten,” referring to the twenty-year effort that the USA launched in 2001 to overthrow the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan and ensure security in the country.

Afghans living in America told the BBC they were horrified by the Washington DC attack and emphasized that it was the act of a single person.

Some spoke anonymously out of fear of retaliation from the Taliban, who regained control of Afghanistan after U.S. troops withdraw in 2021.

One of the Afghans who made the move after the US withdrawal described Wednesday’s incident as “extremely tragic”. He noted that the timing was ahead of Thanksgiving and “amidst an extremely tense political environment in Washington, D.C.”

However, he underlined that the attack was “an individual crime, not a representative of a community.”

“Afghans in the United States are hard-working, tax-paying members of society,” he added. “They remain grateful to America for its evacuation efforts during the crisis in Kabul.”

With the US withdrawing its troops and the Taliban coming into play in 2021, thousands of Afghans tried to escape the country, mostly through Kabul.

U.S. officials said the suspect, Mr. Lakanwal, had contacts with U.S. forces in Afghanistan during their time serving there. A former military commander who served with him told the BBC he helped protect US forces at Kabul airport during the withdrawal.

He came to the USA the same year. An official speaking to BBC’s partner CBS News said that he applied for asylum in 2024 and his application was accepted at the beginning of this year.

Another Afghan who moved to the United States after the country withdrew from Afghanistan four years ago also called Wednesday’s attack “truly shocking.” He said he was praying for the victims’ families.

He said he suspected it was “an individual crime committed without the support, participation and cooperation of others” and that the attack “should not count for the whole society”.

Another Afghan living in the US told the BBC that the attack was “a very devastating event for all immigrants”, adding that the political response had left many people in uncertainty.

The situation felt more acute due to the threats in his country of origin, he said: “For us Afghans there’s problem for us in Afghanistan as well as here.”

Crystal Bayat, an Afghan human rights activist who moved to the United States after 2021, said she still fears that the U.S. government could suddenly change course on accepting Afghan immigrants, even though she has received permanent residency.

“Every day I fear what happens if the policy changes and they deport us from here?” Ms Bayat told BBC World Service’s Outsourcing programme.

“I hope President Trump changes his mind on this,” Ms. Bayat said. “It is very dangerous to punish entire immigrant communities or people who stand shoulder to shoulder with the (American) people.”

He said there are still families in danger because of their support for the United States before the withdrawal from Afghanistan.