US suspends asylum decisions after gun attack in Washington: “Every foreign applicant is vetted as carefully as possible”
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Friday that it is temporarily halting all asylum decisions. The decision comes two days after two National Guard members were shot in Washington. One of them died.
Two members of the National Guard were shot. PHOTO video capture X/@the_typical_lib
US Citizenship and Immigration Services director Joseph Edlow said on the X platform that the measure was taken to ensure that “every foreign applicant is checked as carefully as possible”.
President Donald Trump announced a full shutdown the day before of US admissions for individuals from third world countries, without specifying exactly which countries are targeted or how the measure will be implemented, reports Agerpres, citing dpa.
Also, the Trump administration announced the review of green cards issued to foreigners from 19 considered countries “at risk”, including Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Cuba and Venezuela.
The incident that triggered these measures took place on Wednesday: two members of the National Guard were shot a few blocks from the White House. One of the soldiers died and the other is in critical condition. The suspect, an Afghan who entered the US in 2021, was detained, and the reason for the attack remains, at the moment, unknown.
In the wake of the attack, President Donald Trump has focused on refugee issues, while rights groups have warned against political exploitation of the tragedy.
