USCIS Director Joe Edlow announced that asylum decisions have been suspended to ensure the maximum level of verification of people seeking protection. As he emphasized, the security of the American people remains a priority. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed a similar tone, stating on the X platform that protecting the country and its citizens is the highest priority of the United States.
According to CBS, although the process of considering asylum applications will continue, final decisions will be postponed. The State Department also suspended visa issuance to Afghan citizens. These decisions are related to the attack carried out by former Afghan soldier Rahmanullah Lakanwal. A man who received asylum in the US shot and killed 20-year-old soldier Sarah Beckstrom and seriously wounded 24-year-old soldier Andrew Wolfe.
The assassin, who cooperated with the American military and the CIA during the war in Afghanistan, was checked by the National Anti-Terrorist Center, and in 2024 he received a positive decision on asylum. He came to the US after the evacuation of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021, as part of the settlement program of former US allies.
In response to Wednesday's events, President Donald Trump announced a plan to introduce radical changes to immigration policy. He announced, among others: complete suspension of migration from the so-called third world countries, withdrawing immigrant benefits and citizenship from naturalized citizens who “undermine domestic peace.”
Read also: The United States is tightening its visa policy. Those entering will pay a deposit
A day after the attack, USCIS also announced the suspension of processing applications submitted by Afghan citizens, and on Thursday, a review of the decision on Green Cards granted to citizens of 19 countries in Africa, South America and Asia was announced. Already in June, President Trump issued a regulation limiting the issuance of visas to citizens, among others. Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, and several other countries. These actions are part of the broader context of tightening US immigration policy.
