US Suspends Asylum Decisions as Troop Killing Triggers Major Migrant Crackdown

The United States has paused all asylum rulings, officials announced on Friday, as President Donald Trump intensifies his hardline immigration policies following the alleged shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan national in Washington.

The attack, which took place on Wednesday near the White House, left one soldier dead and another critically injured, prompting the administration to unveil sweeping restrictions on foreign nationals.

Joseph Edlow, Director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said the agency had “halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”

This follows Trump’s Thursday night statement outlining plans to “permanently pause migration from all Third World countries to allow the US system to fully recover.”

When asked which nations would fall under the clampdown, the Department of Homeland Security referred to a list of 19 countries — including Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, and Myanmar — that have faced travel restrictions since June.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also confirmed a temporary halt in visa issuance to all travellers with Afghan passports, stressing that “the United States has no higher priority than protecting our nation and our people.”

Afghan suspect tied to CIA-backed unit

The suspect, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, previously served in a CIA-backed paramilitary unit fighting the Taliban. He arrived in the US as part of a resettlement programme after the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for Washington D.C., said Lakanwal will face a murder charge.

The soldier who died, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom of the West Virginia National Guard, had been deployed as part of Trump’s anti-crime initiative in the capital. The second Guardsman, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, remains in critical condition, according to Pirro.

Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed to pursue the death penalty, describing the suspect as a “monster.”

Immigration policies under renewed scrutiny

In a separate announcement, USCIS said it would review green cards issued to migrants from the same 19 countries already under restriction.

According to US immigration data analysed by AFP, more than 1.6 million green card holders — around 12 percent of the US permanent resident population — were born in these countries. Afghanistan alone accounts for over 116,000 green card holders.

Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac — an organisation involved in Afghan resettlement — criticised Rubio’s visa freeze, saying:
“They are using a single violent individual as cover for a policy they have long planned.”

Officials said Lakanwal had been living in Washington state with his family before driving across the country to the capital.

Trump claimed the suspect entered the US through poorly vetted asylum processes under former President Joe Biden. However, AfghanEvac noted that Afghans were subjected to “some of the most extensive security vetting” and that Lakanwal applied for asylum under Biden but received the approval under Trump.

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