The United States has suspended the processing of all immigration requests from Afghan nationals following the identification of an Afghan asylum-seeker as the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC.
The move was announced after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that the suspect was among those evacuated to the US under Operation Allies Welcome in 2021, saying he was “one of the many unvetted, mass-paroled” into the country during the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Media reports have named the suspect as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who allegedly carried out an ambush-style attack on Wednesday that left two Guardsmen critically injured. He reportedly entered the US in 2021 and was granted asylum earlier this year.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed on Wednesday that it had “stopped processing all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals indefinitely,” pending a review of security and vetting procedures.
President Donald Trump claimed the suspect “was flown in” under his predecessor’s policies, arguing that Biden-era evacuation measures allowed dangerous individuals into the country. He vowed to reassess the status of Afghans who arrived during the 2021 evacuation, saying those who “do not belong here or add benefit to our country” should be removed.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, around 90,000 Afghans entered the US under Operation Allies Welcome. A government audit released in June found that 55 evacuees were either already on a terrorist watchlist or were added after arrival.
The evacuation followed the Taliban’s rapid takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, culminating in the fall of Kabul and the end of the 20-year US-led presence. Trump has repeatedly criticized the withdrawal as a “humiliation” that damaged America’s global standing.
Image credit: Global Residence Index
