‎Trump Administration Expands Immigration Crackdown After Washington Shooting of National Guard Members

By: Shawn
‎Federal officials accelerated a sweeping immigration crackdown after the shooting of two National Guard members near the White House left the victims in critical condition. The Trump administration launched new actions as investigators continued examining the cross-country movements of suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
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‎Trump administration widens immigration crackdown after the Washington ambush of two National Guard members as investigators pursue a nationwide terror probe.
‎Win McNamee/Getty Images
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‎The victims, West Virginia National Guard members Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe, were shot Wednesday in an ambush close to the White House. Authorities apprehended Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, shortly after the attack and opened a nationwide terrorism investigation.
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‎The US attorney for Washington, DC, Jeanine Pirro, described the shooting as a “brazen and targeted” attack. Federal agents searched the crime scene and executed warrants at locations in Washington state and California as part of the early-stage probe.
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‎Trump, Vice President JD Vance and administration officials blamed the Biden administration for permitting Lakanwal’s entry into the United States. Their response included halting reviews of Afghan immigration cases and initiating a review of individuals already living in the country. Officials said the steps could affect settlement rights for Afghan allies who assisted U.S. forces.
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‎Trump said the administration would reexamine individuals who entered the country from Afghanistan during the Biden administration and pursue removal measures where deemed necessary. His comments were released in a recorded address posted by the White House.
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‎USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said his agency is conducting a broad evaluation of Green Cards issued to individuals from what he described as “countries of concern,” with no specific nations named. The announcement followed prior moves by the administration to restrict legal immigration by reducing the refugee cap, ending certain temporary protected status designations and implementing additional visa requirements.
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‎Authorities continued searching for information about Lakanwal’s motive, stating Thursday morning that interviews and searches remained underway. Officials said he lived in Washington state with his wife and five children and traveled nearly 3,000 miles to Washington, DC, before carrying out the attack.
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‎Information from AfghanEvac, a nonprofit that assists Afghan allies, indicated Lakanwal previously served in an elite Afghan counterterrorism unit supported by the CIA. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Lakanwal arrived in the United States under humanitarian parole in 2021 and was granted asylum earlier this year.
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‎Trump administration officials signaled that Lakanwal’s case could prompt further reviews of Afghan nationals with similar backgrounds. Homeland security officials confirmed that processing of Afghan-related immigration requests has been suspended pending a broader review.
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‎Vance said the administration intends to intensify efforts to deport individuals without legal status. Additional senior officials questioned whether Lakanwal’s prior work with U.S. agencies should have resulted in his resettlement in the country.
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‎Ratcliffe said many individuals should not have been admitted under earlier screening processes. Attorney General Pam Bondi called Lakanwal “a monster who should not have been in our country,” while FBI Director Kash Patel said failures in vetting contributed to the case. Pirro stated that inadequate vetting leads to security risks.
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‎AfghanEvac countered those descriptions, noting that Afghan allies undergo extensive security checks before resettlement. The organization said it supports accountability for the perpetrator and opposes the use of the event to target Afghan immigrants as a whole.
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‎The Council on American-Islamic Relations urged the public to direct criticism toward the suspect rather than Afghan refugees broadly. The group said collective blame conflicts with constitutional principles and core values across various faith traditions.
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‎Political fallout expanded as administration officials criticized Democratic lawmakers who questioned National Guard deployments. Bondi said public statements made by those lawmakers are being reviewed to determine whether they encouraged violence.
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‎The administration is pursuing the court-martial of Senator Mark Kelly after a video surfaced showing Democratic lawmakers telling service members they could refuse unlawful orders. Trump called the video “seditious” and reposted calls for the lawmakers to face extreme consequences.
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‎Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser condemned the shooting and pledged prosecution of the suspect. She also expressed concern about the deployment of the Guard members, stating that they belonged at home with their families.
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‎Pirro declined to weigh in on the debate surrounding their deployment. She said law enforcement personnel deserve appreciation for responding to threats.

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