Updated Nov. 27, 2025 — Federal immigration authorities announced Wednesday they have paused processing immigration requests from Afghan nationals after a man who entered the United States from Afghanistan was identified as the suspected shooter who wounded two National Guard members in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said the processing of all immigration requests related to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely, effective immediately, while agencies review security and vetting protocols.
The Department of Homeland Security publicly identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal. According to DHS, Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, the Biden-era evacuation program for Afghans. He was shot by a Guard member at the scene, taken into custody and is now held by authorities.
A DHS official told CBS News Lakanwal was paroled into the country on humanitarian grounds in 2021. He later applied for asylum in 2024; that asylum claim was granted in 2025, and a green card application tied to the asylum grant remains pending.
President Trump called for a reexamination of everyone who entered the U.S. from Afghanistan under the Biden administration and urged removal of any noncitizens he said “do not belong here.” Republican officials have long questioned whether vetting for evacuees was sufficiently rigorous, while Democrats and others have defended the screening processes used.
The shooting has renewed scrutiny of the 2021 evacuation that brought tens of thousands of Afghans to the United States after the U.S. withdrawal and the Taliban’s return to power. About 85,000 Afghans were settled in the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome, many temporarily housed on military bases after arrival. Some arrived on Special Immigrant Visas offered to Afghan employees of the U.S. government; others came through asylum claims, family-based visas, humanitarian parole or temporary protected status. The SIV program has faced years of backlogs, and some evacuees remain without a clear path to permanent residency unless they qualify under another category.
More than 8,000 Afghans received deportation relief under temporary protected status, which President Biden extended in 2023; President Trump chose to end that designation earlier in 2025.
The nonprofit AfghanEvac condemned the attack but urged against demonizing the broader Afghan community, noting evacuees ‘‘undergo some of the most extensive security vetting of any population entering the country,’’ and warning that politicizing the incident could harm vulnerable families and communities, according to AfghanEvac President Shawn VanDiver.
Members of both parties have expressed support for helping Afghans who assisted U.S. forces, even as elected officials debate whether additional reviews of vetting and security procedures are needed. Camilo Montoya-Galvez contributed to this report.