The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has put an immediate stop to all immigration applications from Afghan nationals following a shooting incident involving National Guard personnel in Washington, less than 500 metres from the White House.
In a post on X on Thursday, the agency announced: “Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”
USCIS said its decision was rooted in national security priorities, adding: “The protections and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission.”
Trump labels attack an act of terror
Reacting to the incident, US President Donald Trump condemned the assault in sharp terms.
“This heinous assault was an act of evil and an act of hatred, and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity,” he said during a televised address on Wednesday evening.
The President said the individual taken into custody was “a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan, a hellhole on earth”, blaming the previous Biden administration for approving the suspect’s entry under refugee status.
President vows wider review of Afghan entrants
Trump also signalled a broad reassessment of immigration files linked to Afghanistan. “We must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden, and we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here, or add benefit to our country — if they can’t love our country, we don’t want them,” he said.
He further announced the deployment of an additional 500 federal troops to bolster security in Washington.
FBI confirms federal charges
FBI Director Kash Patel told reporters that the case falls under federal jurisdiction. He said the attack amounted to “an assault on federal law enforcement officers” and would therefore be prosecuted at the federal level.
Thousands of Guard members already in Washington
National Guard soldiers from multiple states have been stationed in the US capital for several months as part of Trump’s public-safety initiative, which has since spread to other major American cities.
Washington currently hosts roughly 2,400 Guard members, including 958 from the DC National Guard and around 1,300 deployed from eight different states.
US President was away at the time
As per reports, Donald Trump was not in Washington when the shooting occurred and was in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday.