The Trump administration announced that it is halting all Afghan immigration to the United States following a violent attack in Washington, D.C., in which two West Virginia National Guard members were shot at a metro station. The decision marks an immediate and indefinite pause in the processing of all immigration requests involving Afghan nationals, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said.
The announcement came just hours after the alleged attacker, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national brought into the country by the Biden administration in 2021, reportedly shot two National Guardsmen in the head with a revolver near 17th and I Street NW shortly before 3 p.m. Both victims are believed to be in critical condition.
“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols,” USCIS said in a statement posted to social media. “The protections and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission.”
Emergency vehicles responded rapidly to the scene, with at least one helicopter landing on the National Mall. Photographs showed one of the injured Guardsmen being transported on a stretcher.
DHS Links Suspect to Mass Parole Program
Department of Homeland Security officials identified Lakanwal as the alleged shooter and said he was paroled into the United States under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome on September 8, 2021.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem condemned the attack in a public statement. “The suspect who shot our brave National Guardsmen is an Afghan national who was one of the many unvetted, mass paroled into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome on September 8, 2021, under the Biden Administration,” Noem said. She added that National Guard personnel “are mothers, fathers, sisters, daughters, children of God, carrying out the same basic public safety and immigration laws enshrined in law for decades.”
“The politicians and media who continue to vilify our men and women in uniform need to take a long hard look in the mirror,” she said.
Authorities are investigating the shooting as a targeted attack. According to reports, Lakanwal shouted “Allahu akbar!” before opening fire.
Part of Broader Federal Crime Crackdown in D.C.
The attack comes in the wake of heightened federal involvement in law enforcement in the nation’s capital. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump announced a federal takeover of Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department in response to rising public safety concerns. The decision followed an incident in which Department of Government Efficiency staffer Edward Coristine—widely known by the nickname “Big Balls”—was severely injured while attempting to stop a mob from carrying out a carjacking.
The shooting has intensified scrutiny of the Biden-era parole program that admitted tens of thousands of Afghans following American withdrawal from Afghanistan. With the USCIS announcement, all immigration processing for Afghan nationals is now suspended indefinitely pending a federal review of vetting procedures.
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