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Donald Trump's big move on visa, asylum follows 'Third World' comment after guard killed near White House
Donald Trump labelled the shooting a “terrorist attack” and blamed the Biden administration for allowing entry by Afghans who worked with US forces.
The Trump administration has suspended all asylum rulings, and halted the issuance of visas for travellers using Afghan passports, days after a shooting near the White House killed one National Guard member and left another critically injured.
The move comes as investigators work to determine why the suspected gunman, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, opened fire on the troops deployed under President Donald Trump’s crime-control mission in Washington, DC.
Officials said Lakanwal, who now faces charges including first-degree murder, was taken into custody shortly after the attack. US attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office noted that he has also been charged with two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed. In a Fox News interview, she said there were “many charges to come,” reported AP.
Trump links attack to immigration
Donald Trump earlier labelled the shooting a “terrorist attack” and blamed the Biden administration for allowing entry by Afghans who worked with US forces.
He further declared that he will “permanently pause migration from all Third World countries.” Trump framed the move as necessary, and said, “Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation.”
"Third world" is largely seen as an offensive term that originated during the Cold War — coined at first for countries that remained non-aligned with both the US or the Soviet Union — and is often used pejoratively for countries in Asia and Africa mostly.
How White House shooter got asylum
Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who worked with the CIA during the Afghanistan War, applied for asylum during the Biden administration and received approval this year under Trump, according to an organisation assisting evacuated Afghans, cited by AP.
The administration has since used the incident to promise a wider crackdown on legal immigration, including a pause on entry from what Trump described as certain “Third World” nations and a review of Afghans and other migrants already in the United States. Some of these steps build on initiatives rolled out earlier in his second term.
What US immigration services chief said
The head of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, announced on X that the agency has halted all asylum rulings “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”
Separately, secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Friday that the State Department has suspended “visa issuance for ALL individuals traveling on Afghan passports.”
Afghan suspect’s background
Lakanwal lived in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and five children, according to former landlord Kristina Widman, reported AP. Neighbour Mohammad Sherzad described him as polite and quiet, noting that he spoke little English.
Officials said Lakanwal entered the United States in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era programme that resettled Afghans following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
He later applied for asylum, and his claim was approved this year under the Trump administration, #AfghanEvac said in a statement.
