US Halts Afghan Visas, Asylum Claims Following Shooting Near White House
Following a shooting incident near the White House that left one National Guard soldier dead and another critically injured, the Trump administration has taken swift action to restrict immigration, pausing visa issuance for all individuals traveling on Afghan passports and halting all asylum decisions.
the shooting occurred when West Virginia National Guard members Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, were allegedly ambushed in an unprovoked attack while patrolling near the White House. Beckstrom died from her injuries on Thursday evening, while Wolfe remains in critical condition, according to reports from Al Jazeera.
the alleged shooter,identified as Lakanwal,previously worked for the CIA in Afghanistan before emigrating to the US shortly after the 2021 withdrawal of Western forces. The CIA has confirmed this facts. Charges against Lakanwal have been upgraded to first-degree murder, along with two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, announced by US Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, on Friday.
in response to the incident, Secretary Marco Rubio announced via X (formerly Twitter) on November 28, 2025: “President Trump’s State Department has paused visa issuance for ALL individuals traveling on Afghan passports. The United States has no higher priority than protecting our nation and our people.” https://t.co/HuR1Lj7F9t
Further measures were announced by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) director Joseph Edlow. Edlow stated on Friday that the agency had paused all asylum decisions “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.” He also announced a “full-scale, rigorous re-examination of every green card for every alien from every country of concern” at the direction of President Trump.
These actions are the latest in a series of escalating restrictions on immigration imposed under President Trump’s direction. Trump, who labeled the shooting a “terrorist attack,” has repeatedly criticized the Biden administration’s immigration policies, specifically the granting of visas to Afghan nationals who assisted US forces.
Lakanwal entered the US under “Operation Allies Welcome,” a program established during the Biden administration following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump called for the re-examination of green card applications from 19 “countries of concern” and stated his intention to suspend immigration from “all Third World countries,” a term he did not specifically define but which is often used to refer to developing nations in the Global South.He also asserted his intention to “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country,” and to “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquillity, and deport any foreign national who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western civilization.”
Since returning to office in January, trump has already implemented restrictive immigration policies, including announcing in October that the US would accept only 7,500 refugees in 2026 – the lowest number since 1980.
