USCIS halts asylum decisions after Afghan national accused of shooting National Guard members
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced Friday that it is pausing all asylum decisions following a shooting in Washington, D.C., in which an Afghan national is accused of shooting two National Guard members, including one who died from his injuries.
USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow said asylum decisions would be suspended “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the fullest extent possible.”
“The safety of the American people always comes first,” he wrote to X.
The pause comes amid a broader immigration crackdown flagged by President Donald Trump, who vowed Thursday to halt immigration from “Third World countries” and reverse Biden-era admissions.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE ‘IMMEDIATELY’ SUSPENDS ALL PASSPORT VISAS IN AFGHANISTAN AFTER DEADLY NATIONAL GUARD ATTACK
National Guard members Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, were shot in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (United States Attorney for the District of Columbia/Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Edlow said Thursday that authorities will reexamine green cards issued to immigrants from every “country of concern,” including Afghanistan. USCIS has also implemented new national security measures that must be taken into account when reviewing immigrants from “high-risk” countries.
“I directed a full-fledged and rigorous re-examination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of interest,” he wrote.
ATF and Secret Service officers are seen following the shooting of two National Guard soldiers near the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (Evan Vucci/AP)
The Department of Homeland Security also said it has already halted all immigration requests from Afghanistan and is in the process of reviewing all asylum cases approved by the Biden administration.
Additionally, the State Department paused all visas for people traveling with Afghan passports in response to the attack on National Guard members.
“The State Department IMMEDIATELY paused the issuance of visas for persons traveling with Afghan passports,” the agency wrote. “The Department is taking all necessary steps to protect U.S. national security and public safety.”
Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old National Guard member from West Virginia, died following a shooting in the nation’s capital on Wednesday, while the second soldier injured in the attack, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, remains in critical condition.
The alleged gunman, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, faces multiple charges, including one count of first-degree murder and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the Department of Justice will seek the death penalty for the suspect.
DC NATIONAL GUARDS SHOT THE SUSPECT WHO? THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT AFGHAN NATIONAL RAHMANULLAH LAKANWAL
Undated file photo of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, DC, November 26, 2025. (provided by the Ministry of Justice)
Lakanwal legally entered the United States in 2021 on humanitarian parole as part of the Biden administration’s Operation Allied Welcome following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
he was Reviewed by CIA In Afghanistan due to his work at the agency and again because of his asylum application in the USA. A senior US official told Fox News that “all checks were clean” on the background check.
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Lakanwal’s asylum application was approved by the Trump administration earlier this year.
A report published in June by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General found there were “no systematic failures” in Afghan refugee vetting or subsequent migration routes.
