The US has suspended processing all immigration requests from Afghans, after an Afghan man was identified as the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers near the White House.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services said the decision was made pending a review of “security and vetting protocols”.
The suspect of Wednesday’s shooting, which left two National Guard members critically injured, is said to have arrived in the US from Afghanistan in September 2021.
US President Donald Trump said the attack was an “act of terror”, adding that he would take steps to remove foreigners “from any country who does not belong here”.
Tens of thousands of Afghans entered the US under special immigration protections following the chaotic US withdrawal from the country in 2021 under former President Joe Biden.
The Department of Homeland Security named the suspect in a press release as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, “a criminal alien from Afghanistan”.
It said Lakanwal had entered the US during the presidency of Joe Biden in September 2021, under a programme for Afghans named called Operation Allies Welcome.
At the time, the Taliban had taken back control of Afghanistan following a chaotic withdrawal of US forces.
An official told the BBC’s US news partner CBS that Lakanwal had applied for asylum in 2024, and that his application had been granted earlier this year.
Lakanwal’s is reportedly 29 years old, and he is said to not be co-operating with authorities’ investigation.
Trump said following the shooting that the US “must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden”.
Gotta distract from the fact that they were the ones who gave this guy permission to be here earlier this year and how all the evil shit they did to other immigrants over the past few months didn’t do anything to prevent this