The Trump administration has suspended all asylum rulings following the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, DC, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow stated.
On Friday, Edlow posted on X that the hold would continue until every alien receives maximum vetting and screening.
The statement arrived hours after President Donald Trump vowed to permanently halt migration to the US from all third world countries.
On Thursday, Trump reported that a National Guard member died from wounds sustained in Wednesday’s shooting, for which an Afghan national is responsible.
USCIS officers under the Department of Homeland Security received orders to halt approvals, denials, or closures of asylum applications from all nationalities, CBS News reported.
CBS-reviewed guidance permits officers to process and review asylum cases up to the decision point.
The instruction reads: Once you’ve reached decision entry, stop and hold.
Few details exist on Friday’s order or Trump’s previous statements.
Trump avoided naming targeted countries, a step likely to spark legal fights and UN opposition.
The measures trail Wednesday’s deadly incident and mark heightened migrant policies in Trump’s second presidency.
Trump has pushed mass deportations of illegal entrants, steep refugee admission cuts, and elimination of birthright citizenship for US-born individuals.
After Wednesday’s shooting, Trump vowed to expel any foreigner from any country who does not belong here. That day, the US paused all Afghan immigration processing pending security and vetting reviews.
Thursday saw USCIS announce green card reviews for migrants from 19 countries, without citing the attack.
Asked which countries, USCIS referred to a June White House proclamation listing Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Somalia, and Venezuela. No more details on the review process emerged.
Trump’s pointed Thursday night post escalated, vowing to end all federal benefits and subsidies for noncitizens.
On Truth Social, the President argued this would enable US system recovery from policies undermining Americans’ gains and living conditions.
He faulted refugees for America’s social dysfunction and promised to deport anyone not a net asset.
He asserted hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees were overtaking Minnesota, once great, and targeted its Democratic leaders.
“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover,” the President wrote.
Third world once referred to poorer developing nations.
Trump had imposed a travel ban on Afghans and 11 other mainly African and Asian countries earlier this year. His first term saw another ban on several Muslim-majority countries.
The UN called on the administration to respect asylum pacts.
“We expect all countries, including the United States, to honour their commitments under the 1953 Refugee Convention,” the UN Secretary-General’s deputy spokesperson told Reuters.
Jeremy McKinney, American Immigration Lawyers Association president, deemed Trump’s stance scapegoating of US migrants.
On BBC World Service’s Newsday prior to latest comments, McKinney stressed the attacker’s motive remains unknown.
These types of issues don’t know skin colour, they don’t know nationality, he said. When a person becomes radicalised or is suffering some type of mental illness, that person can come from any background.
These rapid announcements followed disclosures that Washington DC shooting suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal entered the US in 2021.
He came via a program granting special protections to Afghans who assisted US forces after the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Lakanwal worked with the CIA, its director confirmed.
US vetted Lakanwal when he began CIA collaboration and upon US arrival, a senior official informed CNN.
A childhood friend told the New York Times Lakanwal faced mental health problems after unit service.
