They just poured into the plane with no checking
On a Wednesday afternoon in Washington, a man who had arrived in the United States under a program designed to protect Afghan allies opened fire on two National Guard soldiers near the White House, killing one and wounding another. The act set in motion a sweeping governmental response — visa suspensions, halted asylum decisions, and troop deployments — that would touch thousands of lives far beyond the moment of violence itself. It is a familiar human pattern: a single act reshaping the fate of many, as the machinery of policy moves faster than the questions it leaves unanswered.
- A National Guard soldier was killed and another wounded in a midday attack near the White House, carried out by an Afghan national who had lived in the US for four years without a criminal record.
- Within hours, the government froze visa issuance for all Afghan passport holders and suspended every pending asylum decision — sweeping measures that affect thousands of people who had no connection to the shooting.
- The attacker had entered through Operation Allies Welcome and had his asylum application approved just months before the attack, raising urgent and unresolved questions about how existing vetting processes failed.
- President Trump called the shooting an act of terror and signaled broader removals of foreigners, while 500 additional National Guard troops were ordered to Washington to join the 2,200 already deployed.
- The gap between the policy response and the actual failure point remains wide — a blanket freeze on Afghan immigration does not explain how a vetted, approved applicant with no prior record carried out the attack.
On a Wednesday afternoon in downtown Washington, two West Virginia National Guard soldiers on routine patrol near 17th and I Streets were ambushed by a gunman who emerged from around a corner and opened fire. One soldier was killed. Another was wounded. The shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national, was shot and taken into custody.
Lakanwal had come to the United States in September 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, the program created to evacuate Afghans at risk after the Taliban's return to power. He lived in the country for nearly four years with no criminal record. He applied for asylum in December 2024, and his application was approved in April 2025. Then he carried out the attack.
The government's response was immediate and broad. The State Department suspended visa issuance for all Afghan passport holders. US Citizenship and Immigration Services halted every pending asylum decision, pending what officials called a comprehensive review of vetting and screening protocols. USCIS Director Joseph Edlow framed the pause as a matter of public safety. The State Department described it as a necessary security measure.
President Trump called the shooting an act of terror and said he would move to remove foreigners who did not belong in the country. He stopped short of blaming all Afghans, but added that there had been 'a lot of problems with Afghans' and that vetting had been inadequate during the 2021 evacuations. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that 500 additional National Guard troops would be deployed to Washington, joining the 2,200 already stationed in the capital.
What the policy response could not resolve was the central question the attack raised: how a man who had been vetted, approved, and living quietly for years had arrived at that corner with a weapon. The suspension of visas and asylum decisions would not answer that. It would, however, place thousands of Afghans — people whose cases were pending, whose futures had been entrusted to the system — in a state of indefinite uncertainty, their fates frozen by a single act of violence they had no part in.
On a Wednesday afternoon in downtown Washington, a few blocks from the White House, two members of the West Virginia National Guard were conducting a routine patrol near 17th and I Streets when a man emerged from around a corner and opened fire on them. One soldier was killed. Another was wounded. The gunman, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was shot and taken into custody. He was an Afghan national who had arrived in the United States in September 2021.
Within hours, the machinery of government response shifted into motion. The State Department announced an immediate suspension of visa issuance for anyone traveling on an Afghan passport. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services halted all asylum decisions pending what officials described as a comprehensive review of vetting and screening protocols. These were not measured, incremental steps. They were described as urgent precautionary measures, framed as essential to protecting national security and public safety.
Lakanwal's path to the United States traced back to the chaotic final days of the American presence in Afghanistan. He had entered the country under Operation Allies Welcome, the program established to evacuate Afghans who had worked with US forces or were otherwise at risk following the Taliban's return to power in 2021. For nearly four years, he lived in the country without a criminal record. Then, in December 2024, he applied for asylum. His application was approved on April 23, 2025, after Donald Trump had taken office.
The political response was swift and expansive. Trump characterized the attack as an "act of terror" and said he would move to remove foreigners "from any country who does not belong here." When asked whether he blamed all Afghans for the shooting, he said no—but then added that there had been "a lot of problems with Afghans" and complained that "there was no checking! They just poured into the plane." The distinction was thin. The practical effect was clear: an entire nationality's immigration pathway had been frozen.
USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow stated that the safety of the American people came first, justifying the halt to all asylum decisions until migrants could be vetted and screened "to the maximum degree possible." The State Department, meanwhile, suspended processing of all immigration requests from Afghans, pending the security review. These actions were presented as part of a broader crackdown on immigration, with national security positioned as the paramount concern.
The security response extended beyond paperwork. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Trump had ordered an additional 500 National Guard troops deployed to Washington, joining the 2,200 already stationed in the capital as part of the administration's wider security and immigration enforcement effort in several Democratic-led cities. The presence was becoming visible, tangible, a physical manifestation of the shift in policy.
What remained unresolved was the question of how a man with no criminal history, who had been vetted and approved through existing channels, had carried out the attack. The suspension of visas and asylum decisions would not answer that question. It would, however, affect thousands of Afghans whose cases were pending, whose applications had been submitted, whose futures had been placed in the hands of a system now frozen in response to a single act of violence by a single person.
Citas Notables
The Department of State has immediately paused visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports. The Department is taking all necessary steps to protect U.S. national security and public safety.— US State Department statement
USCIS has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible. The safety of the American people always comes first.— USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why suspend visas for an entire nationality based on one person's actions?
Because the attack happened, and it happened to someone who came through the system. The government is saying the system failed, so the system needs to stop until it can be fixed.
But he had no criminal record. He was approved through the existing process.
That's the troubling part. It suggests that the vetting that was done wasn't sufficient—or that something changed in him after approval. Either way, it creates doubt about whether the process works.
What happens to the thousands of Afghans with pending cases?
They wait. Their lives pause. Some may have been waiting years. Now they're waiting longer, with no clear timeline for when processing resumes.
Is this about security or politics?
Probably both. The attack is real, the death is real. But the response—freezing an entire nationality's immigration—is a choice, and choices like that are always political.
Did Trump blame all Afghans?
He said he didn't, but then he said there had been "a lot of problems" and complained about the vetting process. The words left room for interpretation, which is often how these things work.