Immigrants in the United States face growing scrutiny as President Donald Trump vows to crack down on Afghan citizens and others seeking U.S. protection. The policy change follows an attack in the nation's capital before Thanksgiving that left one National Guard member killed and another critically wounded.
The suspect, an Afghan national, was legally released by the government in 2021.
That same year, the United States evacuated tens of thousands of Afghans after American troops withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban regained power. Many Afghans serving alongside US troops sought protection, fearing persecution under the new regime. The speed and chaos of the exodus has raised security concerns, especially among critics of the Biden administration. Since returning to office, President Trump has limited the ability of Afghans to enter and stay in the United States and has narrowed reunification opportunities for family members still abroad.
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The campaign to deport Trump has already begun before November 26th. But the shooting of National Guard members prompted increased efforts to restrict entry and scrutinize Afghan and other immigrants already in the United States.
The Afghan community is bracing for a new round of crackdowns that could target other immigrant communities as well. After the Nov. 26 attack, Trump administration officials announced re-vetting all Afghans who entered the country during the Biden administration, suspending visas for Afghans, tightening vetting and freezing asylum decisions for people of any nationality. The flurry of actions adds to other administration decisions this year restricting Afghans and others already in the country legally, as well as those trying to come.
Much about the shooting remains unknown, including the motive. Mr Trump says he doesn't blame all Afghans, but that “so many bad ones” arrived on the planes four years ago. The government views the shooting as a security failure by the Biden administration. However, the suspect was reportedly subjected to several levels of scrutiny at this early stage. examination – potentially covering both presidents – before gunning down two military personnel outside the White House.
Afghans and their defenders condemned the attack and prepared for a response.
“Generalizing the individual case of an individual and dehumanizing the community… can incite violence against the community,” says Mahdi Sourosh, project manager at the Center for Victims of Torture. Project Raahatwhich offers mental health services to Afghans in Minnesota. He says many were seeking safety in the U.S. from violence at home not much different from what was seen during the National Guard shooting.
Security concerns surrounding Afghan evacuees
Several Republican-led states have sent National Guard members to Trump's crime-fighting campaign in the nation's capital. As a result of the shooting, a specialist died. Sarah Beckstrom and seriously wounded Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolf, both from the West Virginia National Guard.
The suspect, Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, traveled from his home in Washington state to Washington, D.C., officials said. According to multiple news reports, he worked for a CIA-linked secret unit in Afghanistan. The violence he faced worried him, a friend said New York Times. The Biden Administration legally released Mr. Lakanwala on parole to the United States in September 2021 during the Operation Welcome Allies evacuation. The Trump administration reportedly granted him asylum this spring. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services did not respond to the Monitor's request for confirmation. A first-degree murder charge is expected.
On NBC News' “Meet the Press” show Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the suspect “has been radicalized since he's been here in this country.” She did not provide further details but confirmed that investigations into Mr Lakanwala's acquaintances were ongoing.
The White House and Republican lawmakers have expressed concern about the arrival of the Afghans under the former president's watch. Federal Inspector General under the Biden Administration. found problems with screening evacuees, including incorrect or missing personal information. The Department of Homeland Security “may have admitted into the United States or paroled into the United States individuals who pose a threat to national security and the safety of local communities,” the 2022 report said. report. In a report published in June this year by the Ministry of Justice audit department defended the FBI's screening of Afghan evacuees.
Other recent threats to public safety have kept Afghans in the news. Two Afghan citizens this year pleaded guilty to participate in a plot on Election Day 2024 to obtain firearms and ammunition to carry out a terrorist attack, allegedly through ties to the Islamic State. In April, an Afghan man in Virginia was declared dead after a shootout with police during a traffic stop. The man was captured on police body camera video saying he was part of the “special forces” and was supposed to join the Taliban. The day before the National Guard shooting, another Afghan national who entered the U.S. during Operation Welcome Allies was arrested in Texas for threatening to bomb a Fort Worth building. in accordance with Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.
Tighter restrictions after attack
Following last week's attack in the nation's capital, President Trump spoke out about the crackdown on immigrants in general and Afghans in particular.
“We must now rescreen every foreigner who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden,” Mr. Trump said in a statement. video message. “And we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any foreigner from any country who does not belong here or benefit our country.” According to the government, the government had already planned to review all refugee admissions under the previous administration. news reports according to internal memo.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services, which oversees legal immigration, said Thursday it would implement new verification restrictions for citizens of 19 “high-risk” countries, including Afghanistan.
USCIS also announced that the agency has suspended all asylum decisions. As of June, the agency had more than 1.5 million pending asylum applications, according to the latest data.
The pause remains “until we can ensure that every foreigner is screened and screened to the maximum extent possible.” said Directed by Joseph Edlow. The administration has previously cracked down on the number of asylum seekers at the border. The State Department on Friday also announced pause in issuing visas to Afghan passport holders.
An Afghan green card holder from Boston, who asked that her name not be used for security reasons, says she underwent background checks, biometrics and an interview before arriving legally under the Biden administration. Through her work with the US government, she received a special immigrant visa.
“It's very difficult to go through everything again… just to prove that you're qualified,” she says. “It’s kind of retraumatizing people.”
Re-testing all Afghans who arrived under the previous administration would also require enormous resources, says Sean VanDiver, founder and president of #AfghanEvac, a nonprofit created during the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan to evacuate local allies. Instead, the White House should “spend its money and time on the national security programs that President Trump shut down and that likely could have detected” the shooter, he says. For example, earlier this year the administration stopped funding from a national database tracking domestic terrorism, and tried to keep other homeland security money from Democratic-led states.
White House supporters applaud announcements of policy changes.
“The president's first responsibility is to protect national security,” including through a strong vetting system, says Ira Mehlman, media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a Washington group that advocates for lower immigration rates. He adds that the president has broad discretion to exclude immigrants. approved Supreme Court.
What's more, the administration's restrictions on legal routes underscore that demand for immigration here is outpacing the country's desire to accommodate, says Simon Hankinson, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation's Center for Border Security and Immigration. “Not everyone who wants to come to America or any other developed country can do so,” even legally, he says.
Expansion of existing Trump policies
Immigration restrictions announced effective Nov. 26 reinforce previous Trump administration restrictions.
White House in June announced a travel ban on citizens of Afghanistan and 11 other countries citing “foreign policy, national security and counter-terrorism objectives.” Administration also ended Temporary Protected Status for Afghanistan in July, which allowed thousands of Afghans to temporarily live and work in the United States.
More broadly, the president took steps this year to end temporary legal status for people from many other countries. including Haiti, Venezuela, South Sudan and Myanmar. He limited all types of refugee reception – a carefully tested legal path – in the shortest possible time. record low 7,500 this financial year and gives priority white South Africans for these places.
Meanwhile, many Afghans who helped the US are stuck in countries like Pakistan, where they threaten with deportation back to Afghanistan. And Afghan allies based in the US I'm thirsty to bring family members are still overseas to join them.
On social media for Thanksgiving mailPresident Trump said he would “permanently suspend migration from all third world countries.” He singled out Somalis in Minnesota, where some members of the immigrant community are under investigation for fraud – and the declared refugees “take over” the state.
The details of the Social Truth post's implementation are unclear, as is Mr. Trump's pledge to “remove everyone who is not a net asset to the United States or who fails to love our country.”
An Afghan woman in Boston says the US has given her shelter and hope. Now she says she's “confused and scared.”
