Donald Trump has called on his government to re-interview every Afghan immigrant who entered the US during Joe Biden's administration after law enforcement officials identified a suspect. in the shooting of two members of the National Guard in Washington as a man from Afghanistan.
A Department of Homeland Security statement identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the United States. under Biden-era policy allowing Afghans configure after US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Immigration authorities granted asylum to Lakanwala earlier this year, according to CNN.
The shooting happened near the Farragut West subway station in the capital, near the White House, and two National Guard members were in critical condition.
The president called the incident an “act of terror,” adding, “We must now reexamine every foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden.”
Shortly after that announcement, USCIS said it had stopped processing all immigration requests involving Afghan nationals indefinitely.
The suspect, who is now in custody, was also shot and suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, said a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Speaking Wednesday night in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said he was “determined to ensure that the animal who committed this atrocity pays the highest price possible.”
“As we are filled with pain and sorrow for those who were shot, we are also filled with righteous anger and fierce determination,” Trump said.
Trump also took the opportunity to rail against his predecessor Joe Biden's immigration policies, calling the shooting the result of lax vetting of migrants from Afghanistan, a country he called “a hellhole on earth.”
“It was brought in by the Biden administration in September 2021 on those disgraceful flights that everyone was talking about,” Trump said. The President's statement did not acknowledge the verification efforts carried out American militaryintelligence and immigration agents.
Trump concluded his speech by saying the attack justified a review of refugee status and asylum granted by previous administrations.
“We must now retest every foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden, and we must take all necessary steps to ensure that any foreigner from any country who does not belong here is expelled or benefits our country,” the president said. “If they can’t love our country, we don’t need them.”
Authorities did not immediately release the names of the victims, but NBC reported both were from West Virginia.
The suspect “came around the corner” and “immediately began firing firearms at the two National Guard members,” Jeffrey Carroll, a spokesman for the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, said at a news conference.
Bystanders captured and circulated videos of what appeared to be police and National Guard officers subduing the suspect, as well as images of an officer appearing to perform CPR on the shooting victim.
National Guard troops have been stationed throughout Washington since August, when the Trump administration declared a “crime emergency” and ordered them to support federal and local law enforcement.
There are an estimated 2,375 National Guard troops currently deployed in Washington. Trump said in his speech that he had directed the renamed “War Department” to send additional 500 Guardsmen to Washington after the shooting.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb recently ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment was likely illegal and should be stopped, but the order won't take effect until next month. The Trump administration is appealing the decision.
