Trump administration pauses immigration of Afghans after National Guard shooting

CBS News reports that U.S. immigration authorities have announced that they have paused processing requests from Afghan nationals, after a man from Afghanistan was identified as the suspect in a shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a statement that the "processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols," effective immediately.

The announcement came shortly after the Department of Homeland Security announced publicly that the suspected shooter — who was shot by a Guard member and is now in custody — entered the U.S. in 2021 under a Biden-era initiative for Afghans called Operation Allies Welcome.

President Trump said in remarks following the shooting: "We must now reexamine 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." Here is his tweet on the matter.

The Daily Beast reports that the suspect in the case had his asylum approved by the Trump administration earlier this year.

Update (Nov. 28): USCIS Implements Additional National Security Measures in the in the Wake of National Guard Shooting by Afghan National