--- title: Trump Pauses All Asylum Claim Decisions in Sweeping Immigration Crackdown description: The crackdown has targeted not just Afghanistan, where the alleged attacker is from, but dozens of countries. canonical: https://time.com/7337464/trump-asylum-dc-shooting-immigration/ author: Richard Hall article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-11-29T14:43:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-30T13:36:54.382Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Pauses All Asylum Claims in Immigration Crackdown og:description: The crackdown has targeted not just Afghanistan, where the alleged attacker is from, but dozens of countries. og:url: https://time.com/7337464/trump-asylum-dc-shooting-immigration/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ec8c6786e31fd6b/6998cc0847fe5126fc55c4c4/GettyImages-2248198761.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: President Trump Addresses U.S. Troops On Thanksgiving From Mar-A-Lago og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Pauses All Asylum Claims in Immigration Crackdown twitter:description: The crackdown has targeted not just Afghanistan, where the alleged attacker is from, but dozens of countries. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ec8c6786e31fd6b/6998cc0847fe5126fc55c4c4/GettyImages-2248198761.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Pauses All Asylum Claim Decisions in Sweeping Immigration Crackdown After Killing of National Guard Member > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=11652c7d-e667-4a97-aede-cdc63609540b&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Richard Hall](https://time.com/author/richard-hall/) and [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/) Nov 29, 2025 2:43 PM UTC  President Donald Trump participates in a call with U.S. service members from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Thanksgiving Day on November 27, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. President Donald Trump participates in a call with U.S. service members from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Thanksgiving Day on November 27, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. Pete Marovich—2025 Getty Images by [Richard Hall](https://time.com/author/richard-hall/) and [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/) Nov 29, 2025 2:43 PM UTC The United States has paused all asylum decisions and stopped issuing visas to people from Afghanistan in [response](https://time.com/7337149/dc-shooting-national-guard-members-trump-response-immigration-crackdown/) to the [shooting of two National Guard](https://time.com/7337117/national-guard-shooting-washington-dc-white-house-trump-afghanistan-asylum/) members in Washington, D.C., this week. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director (USCIS) Joseph Edlow said late Friday that asylum decisions were being halted “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.” The move comes as part of a [sweeping crackdown](https://time.com/7337402/united-states-to-reexamine-green-cards-from-these-countries-travel-ban/) on legal immigration by the Trump Administration in response to the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members posted to Washington, D.C., allegedly by an Afghan national, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who worked with the CIA in Afghanistan and resettled in the U.S. in 2021\. **Read more:** [_U.S. to Reexamine All Green Cards Issued to People From 19 Countries_](https://time.com/7337402/united-states-to-reexamine-green-cards-from-these-countries-travel-ban/) Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died after the Wednesday shooting, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, is currently in critical condition. They were posted in the city as part of what President Donald Trump has said is an effort to curb crime there. The State Department said it had “IMMEDIATELY paused visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports,” in a post on X Friday evening. Shawn VanDiver, president of nonprofit AfghanEvac, which works with Afghans who were allied with the U.S. during the war against the Taliban, said in a [statement](https://x.com/afghanevac/status/1994568949363871846) on Friday that the Trump Administration was punishing an entire community for the crimes of one person. “They are using a single violent individual as cover for a policy they have long planned, turning their own intelligence failures into an excuse to punish an entire community and the veterans who served alongside them,” he said. “This is not a policy dispute. It is a deliberate abandonment of our wartime allies and a breach of America's word,” he added. Those announcements followed a flurry of statements from across the Administration detailing new restrictions on immigration from a host of countries. Trump said in a post on Truth Social Thursday that he would “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries” and “terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions,” without providing further details on which countries he was referring to. The President also said he would “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country,” and added that “\[o\]nly REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation.” Also on Thursday, Edlow, the head of USCIS, said the U.S. would [reexamine all Green Cards](https://time.com/7337402/united-states-to-reexamine-green-cards-from-these-countries-travel-ban/) issued to residents of 19 “countries of concern,” at the direction of President Trump. “The protection of this country and of the American people remains paramount, and the American people will not bear the cost of the prior administration’s reckless resettlement policies. American safety is non negotiable,” Edlow said in a post on X. The U.S. typically receives hundreds of thousands of asylum applications a year. In 2023, it [received](https://ohss.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2024-10/2024%5F1002%5Fohss%5Fasylees%5Ffy2023.pdf) 457,200 applications and approved 54,350\. ## A former CIA partner Lakanwal is believed to have acted alone in Wednesday’s shooting. He is accused of ambushing the two National Guard members outside the Farragut West Metro station, firing with a .357 revolver before being wounded in an exchange of fire with other National Guardsmen. Before coming to the U.S., Lakanwal had worked with a U.S. military partner force to fight the Taliban, according to CIA Director John Radcliffee, particularly the CIA-backed Afghan Army unit known as one of the special Zero Units. These clandestine units with the CIA have been accused of “extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances,” abuses of human rights, and violations of humanitarian law by [Human Rights Watch](https://archive.ph/h4MlQ#selection-507.636-507.746), accusations that the U.S. government has chalked up to Taliban propaganda. Lakanwal was granted asylum by the Trump Administration in April. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday night, however, that Lakanwal arrived in the U.S. in September 2021 as part of a Biden-era program called Operation Allies Welcome, a program launched to help Afghans who aided the U.S. war effort and their families after the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan. The program allowed nearly 200,000 Afghan nationals to resettle in the U.S. for up to two years without permanent resident status. **Read More**: [_The U.S. Has Turned its Back on LGBTQ Asylum Seekers_](https://time.com/7333402/lgbtq-asylum-seekers-trump-immigration/) FBI Director Kash Patel claimed in a news conference that the Biden-era program had “absolutely zero vetting,” but this is inaccurate. An [audit of the FBI](https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/25-056.pdf), conducted by the department’s Inspector General in June 2025, shows no systemic breakdown in the multi-layered screening process required for Afghan refugees, which involves multiple federal agencies. Noem and Patel have also suggested in recent congressional testimony that the 8,000 Afghan nationals admitted via asylum since Trump took office were heavily vetted. Lakanwal was born in the Afghan province of Khost. and was now living in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and five children. His family members told authorities he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), stemming from his fighting in his home country. U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro had said Wednesday night, before Beckstrom’s death was confirmed, that Lakanwal would be hit with three counts of assault with the intent to kill and a charge of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. With Beckstrom’s death, however, he will be charged with first-degree murder, Pirro says. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7337464/trump-asylum-dc-shooting-immigration/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7337464/trump-asylum-dc-shooting-immigration/"},"headline":"Trump Pauses All Asylum Claim Decisions in Sweeping Immigration Crackdown After Killing of National Guard Member","datePublished":"2025-11-29T14:43:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T13:36:54.382Z","description":"The crackdown has targeted not just Afghanistan, where the alleged attacker is from, but dozens of countries.","url":"https://time.com/7337464/trump-asylum-dc-shooting-immigration/","keywords":["National Security","News","Donald Trump","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ec8c6786e31fd6b/6998cc0847fe5126fc55c4c4/GettyImages-2248198761.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Richard Hall","jobTitle":"Editor","url":"https://time.com/author/richard-hall/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Rebecca Schneid","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ec8c6786e31fd6b/6998cc0847fe5126fc55c4c4/GettyImages-2248198761.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Addresses U.S. Troops On Thanksgiving From Mar-A-Lago","caption":"President Trump Addresses U.S. Troops On Thanksgiving From Mar-A-Lago","creditText":"Pete Marovich—2025 Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/national-security/","name":"National Security"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7337464/trump-asylum-dc-shooting-immigration/","name":"Trump Pauses All Asylum Claim Decisions in Sweeping Immigration Crackdown After Killing of National Guard Member"}}]}] ```