The United States has immediately suspended all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals after Wednesday’s “terrorist attack” in Washington DC.
Afghan Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was named as the suspect in the shootings – and was then shot before he was carted off to hospital.
In the early hours of Thursday morning, UK time, US immigration authorities confirmed: “Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols.
“The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission.”
The Afghan suspect entered the States in 2021 as part of “Operation Allies Welcome” in the aftermath of the US withdrawal from his country – similar to Britain’s own covered-up relocation scheme.
He then applied for asylum in December 2024 and was approved on April 23 of this year.
But Lakanwal’s permission to be in the US is said to have expired this September – meaning he is now in the country illegally.
President Donald Trump, who was in Florida during the attack, called the shooting “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror”.
“The last administration let in 20 million unknown and unvetted foreigners from all over the world, from places that you don’t want to even know about. No country can tolerate such a risk to our very survival,” he blasted.
The Afghan suspect entered the States in 2021 as part of ‘Operation Allies Welcome’, a relocation scheme much like the UK’s (pictured)
|
PAHe said his administration would “re-examine” all Afghans who came to the US under Joe Biden.
Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, issued an impassioned statement vowing justice would follow.
“I remember back in 2021 criticising the Biden policy of opening the floodgate to unvetted Afghan refugees,” Mr Vance said.
“Friends sent me messages calling me a racist. It was a clarifying moment. They shouldn’t have been in our country.
“Many of our voters will demand not just words, but action, and this is an entirely appropriate response.
“We will first bring the shooter to justice, and then we must redouble our efforts to deport people with no right to be in our country.
MIGRATION WARNINGS – READ MORE:
‘We will first bring the shooter to justice, and then we must redouble our efforts to deport people with no right to be in our country,’ JD Vance said
|
GETTY
“Already some voices in corporate media chirp that our immigration policies are too harsh. Tonight is a reminder of why they’re wrong.”
The two soldiers who were shot, members of the West Virginia National Guard, were part of a “high-visibility patrol” around 2.15pm local time (7.15pm GMT) near the corner of 17th and I streets, a few blocks from the White House.
They both remain in critical condition in hospital.
The suspect came around a corner and “ambushed” them, DC police said.
After an exchange of gunfire, other National Guard troops subdued the shooter.
PICTURED: Law enforcement respond at the scene after two National Guard members were shot near the White House in Washington DC
|
REUTERS
Witness Mike Ryan, 55, said he was on his way to buy lunch nearby when he heard what sounded like gunfire.
He ran half a block away and heard another round of apparent gunfire.
When he made his way back to the scene, he saw two National Guard soldiers on the ground across the street, with people trying to resuscitate one of them. At the same time, other guard troops had pinned someone on the ground.
Another witness, Emma McDonald, said she saw one of the soldiers carried away on a stretcher minutes after the shooting, his head covered in blood.
