The United States suspended processing all immigration applications from Afghans after an Afghan man was identified as a suspect in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers near the White House.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said the decision was made pending a review of “security and investigation protocols.”
The suspect in Wednesday’s shooting, which left two National Guard members seriously injured, is said to have arrived in the United States from Afghanistan in September 2021.
US President Donald Trump called the attack an “act of terrorism” and added that he would take steps to expel foreigners “from any country that does not belong here.”
Tens of thousands of Afghans entered the United States under special immigration protections following the chaotic US withdrawal from the country in 2021 under former President Joe Biden.
The Department of Homeland Security named the suspect in a news release as Rahmanullah Lakamal, “a foreign criminal from Afghanistan.” An official told the BBC’s US news partner CBS that he applied for asylum in 2024 and that his request was granted earlier this year.
It is understood that the 29-year-old man entered the country under the program called Operation Allies Welcome.
Trump said after the shooting that the United States “must now re-examine every foreign national who has entered our country from Afghanistan under the Biden administration.”
Joint Task Force DC, which coordinates National Guard deployments in the nation’s capital, said the attack took place around 2:15 p.m. EST (5:15 p.m. GMT) on Wednesday near the Farragut Square subway station.
The soldiers had been on a high-visibility patrol near the corner of 17th and I streets, a popular lunch spot for office workers.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Chief Jeff Carroll said the suspect “turned the corner” and “immediately began shooting,” adding that the soldiers had been “ambushed.”
Other National Guard members nearby heard the gunshots and intervened, holding the suspect until police arrived, he said.
The suspect was shot four times, police sources told CBS.
Thousands of National Guard soldiers from across the United States have been deployed to Washington DC to confront what Trump has described as “out of control” crime.
There have been similar deployments in other U.S. cities, which have faced legal challenges from opponents who accuse the Trump administration of overreaching.
Trump imposed a travel ban on citizens of Afghanistan – and 11 other countries – earlier this year.
Afghan citizens with special immigration visas – available to those who worked directly with the US military and feared retaliation from the Taliban as a result of that cooperation – were among a few exceptions to the broad bans.
The Taliban returned to power after the US withdrawal in 2021.
Trump also ended a program that provided protection from deportation to thousands of people from Afghanistan.
The temporary protected status program allowed immigrants to obtain work permits if the U.S. government deemed it unsafe for them to return to their home countries because of the war.
