U.S. President Donald Trump is calling for a sweeping review of all Afghan immigrants who entered the United States under former president Joe Biden, following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. Trump described the attack as “an act of terror,” saying the suspect arrived from Afghanistan in 2021.
Officials say the 29-year-old alleged gunman entered the U.S. through Operation Allies Welcome, the Biden-era initiative that evacuated roughly 76,000 Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal. Many of those admitted had worked closely with American forces as interpreters, translators, or support personnel.
In pre-taped Thanksgiving remarks delivered from Florida, Trump condemned the attack as “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror,” calling for federal authorities to “re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden.”
Late Wednesday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it has paused all immigration processing related to Afghan nationals indefinitely. The shooting victims — two West Virginia National Guard members — remain in critical condition.
Trump’s comments signal a new political flashpoint over the Afghan resettlement program and the broader national security debate surrounding refugee admissions.