Washington DC Ambush Aftermath: US Indefinitely Freezes Afghan Immigration Requests, Says 'Safety Of Homeland Singular Focus'

Washington: The United States has suspended all immigration requests from Afghan nationals with immediate effect, hours after two National Guard members were shot at point-blank range in an ambush-style attack just blocks from the White House in Washington DC.

The decision came shortly after President Donald Trump, in an address from Florida, called the shooting an ‘act of terror against the Nation and humanity’ and vowed that the Afghan suspect ‘will pay a steep price’.

Trump Condemns Washington, DC Shooting, Says ‘Animal’ Behind Attack Will Face Swift Justice

Speaking from Florida on the eve of Thanksgiving, President Trump delivered a strong address after the two West Virginia National Guard members were shot at point-blank range in downtown Washington, D.C. Calling it a ‘monstrous, ambush-style attack’, Donald Trump said that the assault was ‘an act of evil, an act of hatred, and an act of terror against the nation and humanity'. 

Trump also assured that the ‘animal’ who executed the attack will pay the steepest possible price, adding that based on the latest information, the Department of Homeland Security had confirmed the suspect was a foreign national from Afghanistan who entered the United States in 2021.

The US President argued that the attack exposed a major national security threat, alleging that the suspect had been flown in by the Biden administration during the 2021 Afghanistan evacuation. He said that the government would now ‘re-examine every single alien who has entered from Afghanistan under Biden’ and remove anyone who ‘does not belong here or add benefit to the country’. 

“If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them,” Donald Trump said and announced he had directed the Department of War to mobilise 500 additional troops to protect the capital.

US Suspends All Afghan Immigration Requests

Hours after Trump’s address, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a sweeping order freezing all immigration requests linked to Afghan nationals.

“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols,” USCIS wrote in its post on X. “The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission,” it added.

The suspension has halted visa applications, asylum cases and other immigration pathways until the review is completed.

Shooting Near White House

The attack unfolded on Wednesday afternoon near a Metro station just two blocks from the White House. The gunman ‘came around the corner’ and opened fire immediately, striking the two National Guard members who were deployed as part of Trump’s anti-crime crackdown in the city.

The wounded guardsmen were rushed to separate hospitals and remain in critical condition. Police identified the suspect as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who entered the United States in September 2021. He was also shot during the exchange of gunfire.