US Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that the processing of all immigration cases related to Afghan immigrants “is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”
This comes in the aftermath of a targeted shooting in DC which has left two National Guardsmen in critical condition.
The two National Guardsmen from West Virginia were shot near the White House.
Washington DC Mayor, Muriel Bowser told reporters that the incident was a “targeted shooting” and that the suspect has been arrested.
The Department of Homeland Security identified the suspect involved in the shooting as Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
In a post on X, theUS Citizenship and Immigration Services added that the protection and safety of “our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission.”
President Donald Trump said in an address earlier that all Afghan immigrants who came in the country during the previous administration would be re-examined.
“I can report tonight that based on the best available information, the Department of Homeland Security is confident that the suspect in custody is a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan — a hell hole on earth.”
Donald Trump
The motives behind the shooting remain unclear. Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem had said that her office was working with other law enforcement agencies to investigate.
US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth also quickly responded to the attack, saying that Trump had requested the deployment of more National Guards to the US capital.
“This happened just steps from the White House and it will not stand and that’s why President Trump has asked me, and I will ask the secretary of the Army to the National Guard, to add 500 additional troops, National Guardsmen, to Washington, DC.”
Pete Hegseth
The White House also separately filed an emergency motion to halt an earlier ruling that would have seen the National Guard leave Washington, DC.
The 208-page appeal was filed at the federal court in the District of Columbia by Trump and several of his top officials. Trump deployed federal troops, including National Guard members, to Washington in August as part of a campaign that aims to combat crime in the nation’s capital.
Since their deployment, the National Guards have been patrolling neighbourhoods and transport hubs, usually in clusters of three to five soldiers.
Last week, a federal judge, Jia Cobb, ruled to suspend the National Guard deployment in the capital, on the basis that Trump had exceeded the authority of the executive branch.
Critics had accused the president of using military members for domestic law enforcement, in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. Cobb’s order suspending the National Guard deployment, however, has been paused for 21 days, to give the Trump administration time to appeal.
Public Urged To Not “Demonize” Afghans Following Suspect’s Identification
Shawn VanDiver, the President of a nonprofit organization aimed at relocating and resettling Afghan people, called on the public to not “demonize the Afghan community for the deranged choice this person made.”
“AfghanEvac rejects any attempt to leverage this tragedy as a political ploy to isolate or harm Afghans who have resettled in the United States.
“Those who would twist this moment to attack Afghan families aren’t seeking safety or justice — they’re exploiting division and endangering all of us.”
Shawn VanDiver
He condemned “anyone who uses, or seeks to use, violence” following the shooting that authorities believe was carried out by a man who immigrated to the US from Afghanistan.
“We stand with every American who is horrified and saddened by this crime. There is no excuse — no context, no grievance, no ideology — that justifies the actions of the shooter.”
Shawn VanDiver
He went on to add that the organization, AfghanEvac, “expects and fully supports the perpetrator facing full accountability and prosecution under the law.”
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