The US has suspended processing all immigration requests from Afghans, after an Afghan man was identified as the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers near the White House.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services said the decision was made pending a review of “security and vetting protocols”.
The suspect of Wednesday’s shooting, which left two National Guard members critically injured, is said to have arrived in the US from Afghanistan in September 2021.
US President Donald Trump said the attack was an “act of terror”, adding that he would take steps to remove foreigners “from any country who does not belong here”.
Tens of thousands of Afghans entered the US under special immigration protections following the chaotic US withdrawal from the country in 2021 under former President Joe Biden.
The Department of Homeland Security named the suspect in a press release as Rahmanullah Lakamal, “a criminal alien from Afghanistan”. An official has told the BBC’s US news partner CBS that he applied for asylum in 2024, and his application was granted earlier this year.
The 29-year-old is understood to have entered the country under the programme called Operation Allies Welcome.
Trump said following the shooting that the US “must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden”.
The Joint Task Force DC, which is co-ordinating the National Guard deployments to the nation’s capital, said the attack took place at around 14:15 EST (17:15 GMT) on Wednesday near the Farragut Square Metro Station.
The soldiers had been on a high-visibility patrol near the corner of 17th and I streets - a busy lunch spot for office workers.
Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Jeff Carroll said the suspect “came around the corner” and “immediately started firing”, adding that the soldiers had been “ambushed”.
Other National Guard members nearby heard the gunfire and intervened, holding the suspect down until police arrived, he said.
The suspect was shot four times, law enforcement sources told CBS.
Thousands of National Guard soldiers from across the US have been deployed to Washington DC to tackle what Trump has described as “out of control” crime.
There have been similar deployments in other cities across the US, which have faced legal challenges by opponents who accuse the Trump administration of overreach.
Trump imposed a travel ban on nationals of Afghanistan - and 11 other countries - earlier this year.
Afghan nationals holding Special Immigration Visas - available to those who worked directly with the US military and feared retribution from the Taliban as a result of that co-operation - were among a few exceptions to the sweeping bans.
The Taliban returned to power following the US withdrawal in 2021.
Trump has also ended a programme that granted deportation protections for thousands of people from Afghanistan.
The temporary protected status programme allowed migrants to get work permits if the US government deemed it unsafe for them to return to their home countries due to war.
Source: BBC
--Agencies
