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U.S. stops processing Afghan immigration requests after attack near White House
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said late on Wednesday it has stopped processing all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals indefinitely, after two National Guard soldiers were shot and critically wounded in Washington.
President Donald Trump said that the shooting near the White House was “an act of terror,” saying the suspect came from Afghanistan in 2021.
The move follows Trump’s call for his government to re-examine Afghan immigrants who entered the United States when Joe Biden was President.
“The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission,” the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a post on X.
A suspect who was in custody also was shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening, according to reports.
The 29-year-old suspect, an Afghan national, entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country, officials said.