By Kimberly Hayek
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced late Wednesday that it has stopped processing all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols, after two National Guard soldiers were shot and critically wounded in Washington earlier in the day.
This encompasses work permits, asylum and refugee requests, naturalization, and family benefits, among others.
“The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission,” the agency, which oversees legal immigration into the country, said in a post on social media.
Before USCIS’s announcement, President Donald Trump called for a reevaluation of every immigrant from Afghanistan who entered the United States during the Biden administration, connecting the policy to the shooting, which was near the White House.
In an address to the nation, Trump called the attack an “act of terror” and blamed it on the immigration policies of his predecessor, President Joe Biden. The suspect has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakamal, a “criminal alien” from Afghanistan who entered the country under Operation Allies Welcome in September 2021, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
“We must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden, and we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country, who does not belong here or add benefit to our country,” Trump said.
“If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them.”
The shooting took place at approximately 2:15 p.m. near the corner of 17th and I Street, mere blocks from the White House. Metropolitan D.C. Police executive assistant chief Jeff Carroll called the attack a targeted ambush.
The two victims, members of the National Guard in D.C. as part of a federal task force to bolster security there, were shot at point-blank range. Both were in critical condition at area hospitals late Wednesday.
Trump announced he had directed the Department of War to deploy an additional 500 troops to Washington to bolster security, bringing the total to more than 2,500. He praised the Guardsmen as “patriots” fulfilling a “selfless oath” and expressed gratitude to the military, Secret Service, and D.C. Metropolitan Police.
In the aftermath of the attack, the White House entered lockdown amid a multi-agency response. Investigators are looking into it as a possible terrorist act, though no motive has been revealed. The suspect was wounded in the ensuing gunfight and taken into custody.
Trump’s remarks criticized Biden-era immigration policies, accusing the previous administration of allowing “20 million unknown and unvetted foreigners” into the country.
“No country can tolerate such a risk to our very survival,” Trump said in his address.
“An example is Minnesota, where hundreds of thousands of Somalians are ripping off our country and ripping apart that once great state.”
Trump said the United States is “not going to put up with these kinds of assaults on law and order by people who shouldn’t even be in our country.”
The president asked Americans to pray for the victims and their families.
Trump said the Guardsmen were part of the “DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force,” which has resulted in reduced levels of violent crime in the city. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed the additional troops would be headed to D.C.
Reuters contributed to this report.
