Trump Proposes Immigration Suspension Following D.C. Shooting

President Donald Trump announced late on Thursday his intention to suspend immigration from developing nations to the United States. In a post on Truth Social, he stated that he “will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover.” This declaration comes in the wake of a tragic shooting in downtown Washington D.C., where a member of the National Guard was killed and another critically injured.

The suspect in the shooting, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the U.S. in September 2021 as part of a wave of Afghan refugees following the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. The incident has prompted the Trump administration to adopt a more aggressive stance on immigration policy, attributing blame to existing policies for allowing Lakanwal’s entry into the country.

Trump did not specify when the proposed immigration suspension would take effect or how it would be implemented. He also refrained from detailing which countries would be classified under the suspension. The White House has been approached for further clarification on this matter.

In addition to the proposed suspension, Trump asserted that he would “terminate” the legal status of millions of migrants who were admitted under former President Joe Biden‘s administration. He stated plans to deport foreign nationals deemed a “security risk” and end “Federal benefits and subsidies” for noncitizens.

Earlier on Thursday, the administration announced plans for a “full-scale, rigorous reexamination” of all green cards for immigrants from 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Somalia, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, and Venezuela. A spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that the White House is reviewing all asylum cases approved during Biden’s tenure.

Prior to the shooting incident, on November 21, the Trump administration had already directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to review the cases of all refugees admitted under Biden. Lakanwal’s asylum case was granted earlier this year, while he was still under the Trump administration, according to a DHS official.

According to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, Lakanwal had been living with his family in Bellingham, Washington, before traveling across the country to Washington D.C. prior to the attack. Following the ambush, he was shot by a National Guard member and is currently in serious condition.

The CIA disclosed that Lakanwal previously collaborated with the U.S. government, including the CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, a role that concluded in 2021. This revelation adds further complexity to the ongoing discussions about immigration policy and national security.

As the situation develops, the implications of Trump’s proposed suspension and the broader context of U.S. immigration policy remain critical topics for national discourse.