Trump administration halts all asylum decisions after shooting of National Guard members

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has halted all asylum determinations and temporarily halted issuing visas to people traveling on Afghan passports days after a shooting near the White House left one National Guard member dead and another in critical condition.

Investigators on Saturday continued to search for a motive behind the shooting in which suspect Rehmanullah Lakkanwal faces charges including first-degree murder.

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Lakhanwal is a 29-year-old Afghan national who worked with the CIA during the Afghanistan War. He applied for asylum during the Biden administration and was granted it this year under Trump, according to a group that helps resettle Afghans who helped US forces in their country.

The Trump administration took advantage of the shooting to pledge to intensify efforts to rein in legal immigration, promising to halt entry to some poor countries and review Afghans and other legal immigrants already in the country. This is in addition to other procedures, some of which have already begun.

Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died after Wednesday’s shooting, and Sgt. Andrew Wolfe (24 years old) was taken to hospital in critical condition. They were deployed with the West Virginia National Guard as part of Trump’s crime-fighting mission in the city. The president has also deployed or attempted to deploy National Guard members to other cities to assist in mass deportation efforts, but has faced challenges in court.

Charges against Lacanwal also include two counts of assault with intent to murder while armed, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office said. She said in an interview on Fox News that there are “many more charges coming.”

Asylum decisions stopped

Trump called the shooting a “terrorist attack” and criticized the Biden administration for allowing entry of Afghans who worked with US forces.

Asylum decisions will be paused “so that we can ensure every alien is screened and vetted to the fullest extent possible,” USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said in a post on the social media platform X.

Read more: Refugee groups worry about backlash after National Guard shooting

Experts say the United States has strict screening systems for asylum seekers. Asylum claims filed from within the country through USCIS have faced a long backlog. Critics say the slowdown worsened during the Trump administration.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said Friday that his department had temporarily stopped “issuing visas to all individuals traveling on Afghan passports.”

“They are using one violent individual as cover for a long-planned policy, and turning their intelligence failures into an excuse to punish the entire community and the veterans who served alongside them,” Sean Van Diver, president of the San Diego-based group #AfghanEvac, said in response.

The suspect

Lakanwal lived in Bellingham, Washington, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Seattle, with his wife and five children, said former owner Christina Weidman.

His neighbor, Muhammad Sherzad, said Lakhanwal was polite and quiet and spoke little English.

Sherzad said he attended the same mosque as Lakkanwal and heard from other members that he was struggling to find work. He said Lakanwal “disappeared” about two weeks ago.

Lakanwal worked briefly this summer as an independent contractor for Amazon Flex, which lets people use their own cars to deliver packages, according to a company spokesperson.

Investigators are executing warrants in Washington state and other parts of the country.

Officials said Lakhanwal entered the United States in 2021 through Operation Welcoming Allies, a Biden administration program that resettled Afghans after the US withdrawal. #AfghanEvac said in a statement that Lakhanwal applied for asylum during that administration, but his asylum was approved this year under the Trump administration.

Lakanwal served in a CIA-backed Afghan army unit, known as one of the Special Zero Units, in southern Kandahar province, according to a resident of eastern Khost province who identified himself as Lakanwal’s cousin and spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

Lakanwal started working in the unit as a security guard in 2012, and was later promoted to become a team leader and GPS specialist, the man said.

Beckstrom “embodies leadership and dedication”

Beckstrom enlisted in 2023 after graduating from high school and served with distinction as a military police officer in the 863rd Military Police Company, the West Virginia National Guard said.

“She exemplified leadership, dedication and professionalism,” the guard said in a statement, adding that Beckstrom volunteered for the D.C. deployment.

Associated Press journalists Sarah Brumfield, Siddiqullah Alizai, Elena Bekatoros, Randy Herschaft, Cedar Attanasio and Haley Golden contributed.