Immigration processing Halted as Shooting Sparks New Restrictions
WASHINGTON D.C. – December 4, 2025 - A sweeping halt to immigration processing, triggered in part by the recent shooting of two west Virginia National Guard members, is causing widespread anxiety and legal challenges, according to immigration lawyer Elora Mukherjee. the administration halted the processing of green cards and naturalization applications from citizens of unspecified countries, following President Trump’s vow to “permanently pause” migration from “all Third World Countries,” a term potentially encompassing much of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
The move comes after Rahmanullah Lakanwal,a 29-year-old afghan man granted asylum in April,allegedly shot two West Virginia National Guard members on November 27th. Sarah Beckstrom,20,died on Thanksgiving day,and Andrew Wolfe,24,remains hospitalized. Reports indicate Lakanwal had previously been flagged for mental health concerns by a resettlement agency volunteer and was reportedly suffering trauma related to his prior work with a paramilitary force in Afghanistan that collaborated with the C.I.A.
Alongside the application freeze, Citizenship and Immigration Services announced an indefinite halt on all asylum applications. This suspension, Mukherjee warns, could violate U.S. obligations under the U.N.Refugee Convention and the Refugee Act of 1980, international and domestic laws established to protect those fleeing persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or group membership.
“People from these countries who have lawful status are anxious,” Mukherjee writes in an opinion piece published in the New York Times. “Will they lose their work permits and their jobs? Will they lose their status and face arrest, detention or deportation? Will they need to leave their U.S. citizen children behind?”
Mukherjee stresses the importance of vetting immigrants and asylum seekers for security purposes, but argues that collective punishment is unjust. “Seeking accountability against the perpetrator of a crime is how the legal system is supposed to work,” she states. “But punishing law-abiding immigrants, children and adults alike, for the violent acts of one man is anathema to our justice system and betrays our nation’s highest ideals.”
The case is now proceeding thru the American legal system, while the broader implications of the immigration restrictions remain uncertain.
Elora Mukherjee is a clinical professor of law at Columbia and the director of the immigrants’ rights clinic there.
