The United States (U.S) government has halted asylum claims as the administration of President Donald Trump has continued to implement an immigration crackdown following a tragic shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C.
Officials from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that the U.S halted asylum claims, stating the measure is necessary to ensure every applicant can be “vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”
USCIS director Joseph Edlow said the agency also paused all asylum decisions in the interest of the “safety of the American people”.
“USCIS has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible,” Edlow said in a post on X.
The decision comes after Trump pledged to “permanently pause migration” from all “third-world countries”.
Trump did not name which countries might be affected by his migration pause, which could face legal challenges and has already prompted pushback from UN agencies.
Trump blamed refugees for causing the “social dysfunction in America” and vowed to remove “anyone who is not a net asset” to the US.
“Hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia were completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota,” he said.
“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover.
“These goals will be pursued to achieve a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations, including those admitted through an unauthorized and illegal Autopen approval process. Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation. Other than that, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for—You won’t be here for long!”
On Thursday, the USCIS also said it would re-examine green cards issued to individuals who had migrated to the US from 19 countries, without mentioning Wednesday’s attack.
“At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” Joe Edlow, the director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, wrote in a post on X Thursday.
The 19 countries include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
USCIS said in a statement later Thursday that when vetting immigrants from those 19 countries, the agency will now take into consideration “negative, country-specific factors,” which include whether the country can issue secure identity documents.”
This comes as security agencies identified an Afghan national named Rahmanullah Lakanwa as the suspected shooter in the ambush attack that killed one National Guard member and wounded another just blocks away from the White House on Wednesday.
The CIA on Thursday revealed that Lakanwal previously worked with the U.S. government, including the CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar that ended in 2021 following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro also said Thursday that the suspect will be charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, and he will also be charged with possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. The charges could still change pending the condition of the Guard members.
