Trump orders review of Afghan admissions after Washington shooting

The White House said on Monday that the Trump administration is “actively re-examining” the cases of all Afghan nationals who entered the United States during former President Joe Biden’s administration, following a deadly shooting in Washington, D.C.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that “any individual who threatens our national security or our citizenry will be subject to removal,” adding that US President Donald Trump has “permanently paused the migration of foreign nationals from third world countries that pose a very high risk to the United States.”

“For too long, past American presidents supported self-destructive immigration policies that allowed foreigners who outright hate our country and have no interest in assimilating into our culture,” she said.

The review was announced days after 20-year-old National Guardsman Sarah Beckstrom was fatally shot in the nation’s capital. Authorities have charged Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, in connection with the killing.

A second service member, 24-year-old Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, remains in hospital in critical condition.

Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump described the Wolfe family as “unbelievably great people” and urged the public to pray for their son.

Leavitt said the administration would ensure “the monster responsible for this atrocity is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and faces the most severe punishment possible,” adding that the government must also address “why this atrocity was allowed to happen in the first place.”

Separately, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on Friday that it will conduct a new review of all green card holders from what it calls “countries of concern.”