Deadly Afghan-linked attack ignites Trump’s sweeping crackdown, proving dangers of importing radicalized Muslim populations.
US President Donald Trump vowed Thursday to “permanently pause migration from all third-world countries”, escalating his administration’s immigration crackdown after an Afghan national shot two National Guard members near the White House — an attack Trump called a direct result of America’s failed approach to dangerous migrant inflows.
In a late-night Truth Social message beginning with “a very happy Thanksgiving”, Trump announced plans to end all federal benefits for non-citizens and deport anyone who is “not a net asset to the United States.” The move marks one of the most extreme immigration positions of his second term, fueled by public outrage over the assault.
The shooting suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the United States in September 2021 under a Biden-era program that resettled tens of thousands of Afghans following the chaotic US withdrawal — a program repeatedly criticized by national security experts, Israel’s intelligence community, and counter-terrorism analysts who warned that jihadist infiltration was inevitable.
Although Lakanwal’s asylum was formally approved under Trump’s administration earlier this year, the president stressed that the root problem was the Biden-era intake pipeline, which admitted thousands from regions steeped in extremist ideology and endemic hostility toward the West and Jews.
Shortly before announcing new restrictions, Trump confirmed the death of Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, calling her “an incredible person, outstanding in every way.” Her colleague Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains hospitalized in critical condition.
The CIA later confirmed Lakanwal had served in CIA-backed Afghan special units, the notorious “Zero Units,” which were exposed to intense battlefield trauma and, in many cases, extremist influences. His attack — carried out with a .357 revolver in what prosecutors described as an “ambush-style assault” — is being investigated as terrorism by the FBI.
Trump seized on the moment to argue that the United States, like Israel, must adopt uncompromising control over entry and vetting, insisting that the Washington shooting “reminds us we have no greater national security priority than controlling who enters and remains in our country.”
Within 24 hours, sweeping actions followed:
Massive Immigration Freeze and Reviews
- USCIS suspended all immigration processing for Afghan nationals
- DHS launched a review of every asylum case approved under Biden
- Trump ordered a “full-scale re-examination” of every green card from “countries of concern”
- Travel bans affecting 19 high-risk countries were cited as precedent
While Trump did not define “third-world countries,” his rhetoric targeted nations with histories of Islamist extremism, including Somalia — echoing Israel’s repeated warnings about importing violent ideologies under humanitarian pretexts.
National Guard troops have been deployed across Washington since Trump declared a “crime emergency” in August, though a federal judge recently ordered the deployments wound down. The shooting, occurring just blocks from the White House, may now shift the political and legal calculus entirely.
For many, the attack symbolizes a deeper truth Israel has long articulated: when nations ignore ideological threats embedded within certain migrant populations, the consequences eventually erupt within their own borders.
