Trump administration halts all asylum decisions and freezes Afghan visas after attack on National Guard members

The administration of President Donald Trump on Friday ordered an immediate and total pause in all U.S. asylum decisions and the absolute suspension of visa issuance for Afghan nationals, after two National Guard soldiers were shot and killed in Washington, D.C., just blocks from the White House.

The suspect in the attack, Rahmanullah Lakanwal-an Afghan national who entered the country in 2021 under Joe Biden and was granted asylum in the spring of this year-is singled out by the federal government as the most serious demonstration of structural flaws in the immigration vetting processes inherited from the previous Democratic administration.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, confirmed that Lakanwal will face murder charges after the death of one of the victims, Sarah Beckstrom, was confirmed.

A day after the attack, the State Department announced the immediate suspension of visa issuance for anyone traveling on an Afghan passport. In a message posted on X, the agency reported, “The Department of State has IMMEDIATELY paused visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports. The Department is taking all necessary steps to protect U.S. national security and public safety.”

This approach was adopted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), whose director, Joseph Edlow, confirmed in X that the agency is completely halting asylum decisions while it tightens review processes: “USCIS has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible. The safety of the American people always comes first.”

In practice, the decision means that no asylum application —regardless of nationality, status or stage of processing— will be approved, rejected or closed until further notice. Interviews, however, may continue, but officials must stop at the point prior to entering the final decision.

In addition, face-to-face appointments for the delivery of resolutions are cancelled indefinitely.

Likewise, the measure directly affects thousands of Afghans who came to the United States under the "Operation Allies Welcome" programimplemented during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. All of these asylum cases are suspended.

Both decisions come on top of other actions announced in the last 48 hours, including the full review of permanent residency associated with countries included in the expanded travel ban and Trump's own warning that his Administration is prepared to revoke citizenship and deport any foreign national "who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization."

The White House also argued that the attack in Washington demonstrates the need to re-establish full control over the immigration system. Most of the measures in the last few hours went into effect immediately and have no end date.