Massive news just dropped. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made the call. Immigration requests for all Afghan nationals? Stopped. Effective immediately. Indefinitely. The whole thing is on hold.
This came down right after the DC shooting. A 29-year-old Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was identified as the suspect. He shot two National Guard troops. Right near the White House. An ambush-style attack. He was shot, then detained.
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The Political Fallout is Immediate
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem went straight to X with the background. The suspect was “mass paroled into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome on September 8, 2021, under the Biden Administration.” That’s the crucial detail.
And President Donald Trump? He issued a stern, stern statement. He called Afghanistan a “hell hole on earth.” He wasn’t subtle.
He called the whole thing “monstrous.” A clear “act of evil and an act of hatred and an act of terror.”
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USCIS: The Sudden Halt
The policy change followed right after. That’s the cause-effect split. Lakanwal was identified. And then the USCIS announcement followed.
The agency posted their reasoning directly on X:
“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols. The protections and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission.”
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The security and vetting protocols are the focus now. That’s what they’re scrambling to review.
The Afghan government? They haven’t even responded to this move yet. It’s a huge shift in policy, and they’re silent. The situation is ongoing, though.
Jotting notes: USCIS halted everything. This is an emergency stop button being hit on a highly sensitive program. The political rhetoric is just as high-voltage as the policy change. Trump also ordered 500 additional National Guard troops to DC, those too. It just shows how immediately serious this is. It happened right before the Thanksgiving holiday. Total friction.
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