President Donald Trump referred to as for a “re-examination” of all Afghan nationals who got here to the U.S. throughout the Biden administration, hours after an Afghan man was named because the suspect within the taking pictures of two Nationwide Guard members in Washington, D.C.
Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem mentioned on X that the suspect got here to the U.S. in September 2021 below Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era program designed to assist Afghans who assisted U.S. forces and had been dealing with a Taliban takeover.
“We should now re-examine each single alien who has entered our nation from Afghanistan below Biden,” Trump mentioned in an handle Wednesday night time through which he referred to as the taking pictures an “act of terror.”
Shortly after his remarks, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Companies mentioned it was halting the processing of immigration from Afghanistan to the U.S.
“Efficient instantly, processing of all immigration requests referring to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending additional assessment of safety and vetting protocols,” the company, often known as USCIS, mentioned on X.
The 2 Nationwide Guard members, who’re from West Virginia and deployed to Washington, had been shot by a gunman round 2:15 p.m. They had been in crucial situation Wednesday, officers mentioned. The suspect was additionally shot — by whom was nonetheless below investigation — and was hospitalized, in keeping with police.
Authorities haven’t detailed a motive, if one is thought, however D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser mentioned that “it is a focused taking pictures” and that the suspect appeared to focus on the guard members.
The suspect has been recognized as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, of Bellingham, Washington, 4 senior regulation enforcement officers briefed on the investigation instructed NBC Information.
A relative of Lakanwal’s instructed NBC Information on Wednesday that Lakanwal arrived within the U.S. in September 2021 after having served within the Afghan Military for 10 years, alongside U.S. Particular Forces.
Lakanwal was stationed at a base in Kandahar for a part of that point, the relative mentioned. He got here to the U.S. after the Taliban returned to energy following the August 2021 withdrawal of U.S.-led forces and ultimately settled in Washington state.
“We had been those that had been focused by the Taliban in Afghanistan,” the relative mentioned. “I can’t consider it that he may do that.”
A supply conversant in the case and a separate regulation enforcement supply instructed NBC Information that the suspect was granted asylum this yr.
Particulars of what a re-examination of Afghans already within the U.S. would appear to be, and who arrived throughout the Biden administration, weren’t instantly clear Wednesday night time.
A Trump administration memo on Friday, seen by NBC Information on Tuesday, referred to as for a assessment of all refugees admitted to the U.S. throughout the Biden administration — which may have an effect on 200,000 individuals.
The memo requires a “complete assessment and a re-interview of all refugees admitted from January 20, 2021, to February 20, 2025,” together with U.S. inexperienced card holders. It cites a discovering by USCIS that the Biden administration “probably prioritized expediency, amount, and admissions over high quality interviews and detailed screening and vetting.”
The San Diego-based Afghan advocacy group #AfghanEvac, which works to make sure that Afghans who helped the U.S. will not be deserted within the wake of the Taliban takeover, mentioned Wednesday’s taking pictures shouldn’t be used to punish Afghans within the U.S.
“Afghan immigrants and wartime allies who resettle in america endure a number of the most intensive safety vetting of any inhabitants coming into the nation,” Shawn VanDiver, the group’s president, mentioned in a press release.
“This particular person’s remoted and violent act shouldn’t be used as an excuse to outline or diminish a whole group,” he added.
The Division of Homeland Safety resettled greater than 80,000 Afghan refugees to the U.S. earlier than or instantly after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the following takeover by the Taliban. However many others who wished to depart had been left behind.
The State Division’s inspector common’s workplace mentioned in a June 2023 report that as of March of that yr, 152,091 Afghan “Particular Immigrant Visa” candidates in Afghanistan had been ready on processing. The visa is for Afghans who had been employed by or on behalf of the U.S.
Afghan immigrants and refugees, together with those that aided the American army throughout 20 years of warfare, have been all however barred from coming into the U.S. throughout Trump’s second time period.
On his first day in workplace, Trump signed an government order suspending all refugee resettlement within the U.S. till admissions align “with the pursuits of america.” 1000’s of Afghan refugees, together with many who had already been authorised for U.S. resettlement, are stranded in Afghanistan, Pakistan and different nations, and in some circumstances they’ve been forcibly repatriated.
The Trump administration has additionally terminated protections that allowed Afghans to dwell and work within the U.S. briefly due to harmful circumstances at house. The White Home says the protections are now not wanted as a result of it’s now protected to return to Afghanistan, which is experiencing a number of humanitarian crises and which Trump described as a “hellhole” in Wednesday’s handle.
Advocates say that Afghans who labored with the U.S. are liable to persecution, torture or loss of life in the event that they return to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and that they endure intensive vetting earlier than they arrive within the U.S.
Trump has mentioned he’s dedicated to serving to Afghans who labored with the U.S. army, saying in August that “we all know the great ones and we all know those that perhaps aren’t so good.”
