Washington, DC, shooting: Does US view 77,000 Afghans as potential threats?

Two members of the United States National Guard from West Virginia person been shot portion connected work successful Washington, DC, adjacent to the White House. Authorities accidental the 2 work members person been earnestly injured and are successful captious condition.

A suspect taken into custody aft Wednesday’s shooting was reported to beryllium an Afghan national.

In effect to the shooting, President Donald Trump said his medication indispensable present re-examine each migrant who has entered the US from Afghanistan during the medication of his predecessor President Joe Biden.

What happened successful Washington, DC?

On Wednesday afternoon, the time earlier Thanksgiving, 2 National Guard members were changeable a fewer blocks distant from the White House.

The soldiers were taken to infirmary and stay successful captious condition, according to FBI Director Kash Patel and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser.

In August, Trump deployed federal troops, including National Guard members, to Washington, DC, to combat transgression successful a federal takeover of the city.

Who is the suspect?

The fishy has been identified successful media reports arsenic Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national. The individuality of the fishy was confirmed by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which spelled his surname arsenic Lakamal. He was changeable and injured by instrumentality enforcement responding to the attack.

The fishy sustained wounds that were described arsenic not being beingness threatening, The Associated Press quality bureau reported, quoting an anonymous instrumentality enforcement authoritative who had not been authorised to publically sermon the matter.

The DHS said helium arrived successful the US successful 2021 done the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome programme.

The Taliban seized power of Afghanistan successful August 2021 arsenic the US withdrew its forces determination and then-President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

Biden instantly launched the Open Allies Welcome programme to let susceptible Afghan nationals, peculiarly those who mightiness beryllium viewed arsenic US “collaborators” by the Taliban, to participate the US for 2 years without a imperishable migration status.

According to Congressional Research Service estimates, astir 77,000 Afghans came to the US nether the programme, which remained successful spot for 1 twelvemonth until the US moved to its longer-term resettlement program known arsenic Operation Enduring Welcome.

“The fishy who changeable our brave National Guardsmen is an Afghan nationalist who was 1 of the galore unvetted, wide paroled into the United States nether Operation Allies Welcome connected September 8, 2021, nether the Biden Administration,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said successful an X station connected Wednesday.

“This programme fto successful thousands of unvetted Afghan nationals including terrorists into our country,” Noem said successful a connection published connected the DHS website.

Quoting aggregate unnamed instrumentality enforcement officials, CNN reported that Lakamal had applied for asylum successful 2024 and was granted it successful 2025 nether the Trump administration.

How has the US authorities responded to the attack?

In a video code from his Mar-a-Lago edifice successful Florida, Trump called the shooting a “monstrous ambush-style attack” and “an enactment of evil and enactment of hatred and an enactment of terror”.

“As president of the United States, I americium determined to guarantee that the carnal who perpetrated this atrocity pays the steepest imaginable price,” Trump added.

He continued: “I tin study contiguous that based connected the champion disposable information, the Department of Homeland Security is assured that the fishy successful custody is simply a foreigner who entered our state from Afghanistan, a hellhole connected Earth. He was flown successful by the Biden medication successful September 2021.”

Trump alleged that during the Biden administration, “nobody knew who was coming in” connected the flights from Afghanistan to the US. He said Lakamal’s presumption “was extended nether authorities signed by President Biden”.

“This onslaught underscores the azygous top nationalist information menace facing our nation. The past medication fto successful 20 cardinal chartless and unvetted foreigners from each implicit the world, from places that you don’t privation to adjacent cognize about.”

Trump announced: “We indispensable present re-examine each azygous alien who has entered our state from Afghanistan nether Biden. And we indispensable instrumentality each indispensable measures to guarantee the removal of immoderate alien from immoderate state who does not beryllium present oregon adhd payment to our country.”

Patel said the shooting successful the US superior “is a substance of nationalist security”.

“We person assembled the afloat unit of some the national and authorities and section instrumentality enforcement agencies to bring each of our resources to marque definite we find the perpetrators liable for this heinous act,” Patel added.

The White House filed an exigency question successful national tribunal successful the District of Columbia to halt an earlier ruling that would person seen the National Guard removed from Washington, DC.

Who came to the US from Afghanistan nether Operation Allies Welcome?

According to the DHS website, much than 40 percent of the Afghans who arrived successful the US done the programme were eligible for peculiar migrant visas (SIVs), a visa granted to Afghans who assisted the US subject during its 20 years of operations successful Afghanistan and Iraq.

Afghans worked with the US subject successful respective enactment roles, including arsenic interpreters, guides, drivers, engineers and medics. They often placed themselves successful nonstop information from the Taliban, which viewed them arsenic collaborators. Many besides were exposed to progressive combat zones, were forced to fly their homes and risked losing their livelihoods erstwhile the US pulled retired of the country.

In August 2021, video footage emerged of Afghans clinging to a taxiing US Air Force level successful a hopeless effort to fly the country. A clip showed 2 radical falling from the entity arsenic the level took off.

Hundreds of thousands of Afghans person fled Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, fearing persecution and economical collapse. Many person tried to flight to neighbouring countries, specified arsenic Pakistan and Iran, portion others person gone to the US, United Kingdom and Europe.

How were Afghan immigrants vetted during the Biden administration?

The Trump medication claims Afghans were allowed into the US without due vetting.

But the DHS webpage detailing the Operation Allies Welcome programme astatine the clip stated: “The US authorities is moving astir the timepiece to behaviour the information screening and vetting of susceptible Afghans earlier they are permitted introduction into the United States, accordant with the dual goals of protecting nationalist information and providing extortion for our Afghan allies.”

The website added that the DHS sent astir 400 unit from aggregate agencies, including Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard and the Secret Service to Bahrain, Germany, Kuwait, Italy, Qatar, Spain and the United Arab Emirates to enactment with the Departments of Defense (DOD) and State and different national partners to process, screen, vet and interrogation Afghan nationals.

The DHS added that the screening process was “rigorous” and “multi-layered”. It progressive biometric and biographic screenings conducted by intelligence, instrumentality enforcement and counterterrorism professionals from DHS and DOD alongside the FBI, National Counterterrorism Center and different quality assemblage partners.

Biometric data, specified arsenic fingerprints and photos, were reviewed for each azygous Afghan earlier they were cleared to question to the US, it said.

What different countries look visa restrictions nether the Trump administration?

In June, Trump signed a statesmanlike proclamation banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the US. Later that month, US media reported that the Trump medication was readying to adhd 36 much countries to the list, 26 of which are successful Africa. However, the question prohibition database has not yet been officially expanded.

The countries connected the database are: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Citizens from these countries look a afloat prohibition connected question to the US and a suspension of migrant and nonimmigrant visas. However, radical with existing visas oregon who are lawful, imperishable residents of the US are exempt from this ban. Holders of Afghan SIVs are besides exempt.

In the aforesaid proclamation, Trump placed partial restrictions connected citizens from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

Based connected Trump’s proclamation, citizens from these countries whitethorn nary longer use for migrant visas oregon nonimmigrant impermanent visas covering imperishable immigration, pupil visas and tourism visas. They whitethorn inactive use for immoderate different impermanent visas.

In October, Trump announced a caller exile headdress for the US of 7,500 for the 2026 fiscal twelvemonth with precedence fixed to achromatic South Africans, who helium claims are the taxable of a “white genocide”.

On Monday, the Trump medication announced it would cancel impermanent asylum, including impermanent protected presumption (TPS), for Myanmar nationals surviving successful the US. TPS is simply a ineligible migration pathway for overseas nationals whose location state is considered unsafe to instrumentality to, and 3,969 citizens of Myanmar presently person it. In 2021, the subject took implicit successful Myanmar, and the state has been astatine civilian warfare since.