USCIS halts 'all asylum decisions' after DC shooting of National Guard members

The U S Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS revealed on Friday that it has halted all asylum decisions following the shooting in Washington D C in which an Afghan national was accused of shooting two National Guard members including one who died from her injuries USCIS Director Joseph B Edlow announced the asylum decisions would be suspended until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree achievable The safety of the American people constantly comes first he wrote on X The pause comes amid a broader immigration crackdown signaled by President Donald Trump who on Thursday vowed to halt migration from Third World countries and reverse Biden-era admissions STATE DEPARTMENT 'IMMEDIATELY' HALTS ALL AFGHAN PASSPORT VISAS FOLLOWING DEADLY NATIONAL GUARD ATTACKEdlow declared on Thursday that personnel would reexamine green cards issued to immigrants from every country of concern including Afghanistan USCIS also implemented new national safety measures to be considered while vetting immigrants from high jeopardy countries I have directed a full scale rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern he wrote The Department of Homeland Precaution also explained it had already halted all immigration requests from Afghanistan and was in the process of reviewing all asylum cases approved under the Biden administration Additionally the Department of State has paused all visas for people traveling on Afghan passports in response to the attack against the National Guard members The Department of State has INSTANTLY paused visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports the agency wrote The Department is taking all necessary measures to protect U S national shield and population safety National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia died after the shooting on Wednesday in the nation's capital while the second system member wounded in the attack Andrew Wolfe is still in critical condition The alleged gunman 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 explained that the Justice Department would pursue the death penalty against the suspect WHO IS THE DC NATIONAL GUARDSMEN SHOOTING SUSPECT WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AFGHAN NATIONAL RAHMANULLAH LAKANWALLakanwal entered the U S legally in under humanitarian parole as part of the Biden administration's Operation Allies Welcome following the U S withdrawal from Afghanistan He was vetted by the CIA in Afghanistan for his work with the agency and again for his asylum application in the U S A senior U S official stated Fox News he was clean on all checks in his background check Lakanwal had his asylum application approved by the Trump administration earlier this year A description issued by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General in June determined there were no systemic failures in Afghan refugee vetting or subsequent immigration pathways