Trump Orders Halt to Afghan Immigration After National Guard Shooting

President Donald Trump has ordered an immediate halt to all Afghan immigration processing and demanded a comprehensive review of every Afghan national admitted under the Biden administration, following what he characterized as a terrorist attack on two National Guard members in Washington, D.C.

The facts are straightforward and deeply troubling. On Wednesday afternoon, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal allegedly opened fire on two West Virginia National Guard members deployed to the nation’s capital, leaving both in critical condition. The suspect, who was also shot during the incident, arrived in the United States in September 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a hastily implemented Biden-era program designed to resettle Afghans during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Let us be clear about what Operation Allies Welcome represented: a mass immigration program executed with minimal vetting during one of the most disastrous foreign policy failures in American history. The Biden administration’s catastrophic Afghanistan withdrawal resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members, billions of dollars in military equipment left to the Taliban, and the abandonment of American citizens and Afghan allies. Now we are witnessing the domestic consequences of that failure.

“We must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden,” Trump declared Wednesday night, correctly identifying this as an act of terror. Within hours, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services suspended all immigration processing for Afghan nationals indefinitely, pending a thorough review of security and vetting protocols.

This is precisely the kind of decisive action that should have been taken before admitting tens of thousands of individuals from a war-torn nation controlled by Islamic extremists. The question that must be answered is simple: How many others entered the United States under similarly inadequate vetting procedures?

According to law enforcement officials, Lakanwal had served in the Afghan Army for a decade, including alongside U.S. Special Forces at a base in Kandahar. This detail makes the attack even more perplexing and underscores the necessity of Trump’s review. If someone with apparent credentials as an ally can commit such an act, what does that tell us about the vetting process?

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser confirmed this was a “targeted shooting,” meaning the suspect specifically sought out these National Guard members. This was not a random act of violence. The motive remains under investigation, but the targeting of American military personnel by an Afghan national admitted under a program meant to protect allies raises obvious and urgent questions about both the program’s implementation and the individuals it brought to American soil.

The Trump administration’s response demonstrates the fundamental difference between rhetoric and action on national security. While the Biden administration rushed to admit Afghan nationals without proper safeguards, Trump has immediately suspended the program and ordered a comprehensive review. This is what prioritizing American safety looks like.

The two wounded National Guard members, whose names have not been released, deserve justice. Their families deserve answers. The American people deserve to know that their government will not sacrifice their security on the altar of political correctness or misguided humanitarian impulses.

The suspension of Afghan immigration processing is not xenophobia. It is common sense. It is the basic responsibility of any government to ensure that those it admits into the country do not pose a threat to its citizens. The Biden administration failed that test spectacularly. The Trump administration is now cleaning up the mess.