Washington: Members of the Afghan community in the United States are urging President Donald Trump not to suspend Afghan immigration applications after the administration temporarily halted processing in response to a recent shooting involving two National Guard members in the nation’s capital.
In a statement released this week, Afghan community organizations condemned the attack as “the criminal act of an individual” and warned against linking the incident to Afghan immigrants as a whole.
Community members speaking to British media echoed those concerns. One Afghan resident appealed to the Trump administration to reconsider the new restrictions, while another said Afghans who fled violence and persecution under the Taliban are now facing new hardships in the United States.
The policy shift came after authorities identified the suspected shooter as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered the U.S. in 2021 through a program for Afghans who assisted American forces during the two-decade war in Afghanistan.
On Thursday, President Trump said he would implement a halt on immigration from “all Third World Countries,” claiming the pause was necessary to allow the U.S. immigration system to “fully recover.” The administration also announced it would reevaluate green cards linked to 19 countries already under restricted entry, including Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Haiti, Cuba, and Yemen.
While Trump has not specified which countries would be included under the expanded pause, the United Nations lists 44 nations as “least developed,” raising questions about the potential scale of the policy.
The indefinite suspension of Afghan migration has prompted growing concern among Afghan families, advocates, and veterans who worked alongside Afghan allies during the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. Many fear the policy could leave vulnerable individuals stranded in dangerous conditions abroad while deepening uncertainty for thousands already in the United States.
