Month: November 2025

The Trump administration on Thursday ordered an extensive review of green card holders from 19 countries the government classifies as security concerns, announcing the move just one day after two National Guard members were ambushed near the White House.

USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the directive came directly from President Trump. In a statement on X, Edlow wrote, “At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.” He added that safeguarding the country “remains paramount” and that the U.S. would not continue “the prior administration’s reckless resettlement policies.”

The list of nations flagged for heightened screening was outlined in a June administration memo and includes Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Venezuela, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Sudan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Burundi.

The decision follows Wednesday’s attack in downtown Washington, where National Guard members Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, were shot near the Farragut West Metro station. President Trump announced Thursday night that Beckstrom had died, while Wolfe remained in critical condition.

Authorities identified the suspected gunman as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national who entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, the Biden-era resettlement program for Afghans who had assisted U.S. forces during the war.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said her office is reviewing the suspect’s immigration record and the vetting conducted prior to his arrival. The administration later confirmed that Lakanwal was granted asylum this April, after Trump returned to office.

FBI Director Kash Patel said investigators are examining the suspect’s past ties to U.S.-partnered Afghan units, noting that “This subject had a relationship in Afghanistan with partner forces.” The CIA also confirmed he previously worked with a U.S.-supported team in Kandahar before the 2021 withdrawal.

Family members told NBC News that Lakanwal had served alongside U.S. Special Forces for a decade and was living with his wife and five children in Bellingham, Washington, before driving cross-country shortly before the attack.

In response, the Trump administration immediately suspended all pending immigration requests involving Afghan nationals. Homeland Security officials said they are also reviewing all asylum approvals issued under Biden-era policies and an earlier court settlement that sped up Afghan asylum processing.

Separately, the administration this week ordered USCIS to “re-interview” roughly 200,000 refugees who entered the United States in recent years—part of a broader effort to reassess vetting procedures. Officials indicated that refugee protections could be revoked if new concerns surface.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Lakanwal. He has been charged with multiple counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, though additional charges are expected following Beckstrom’s death.

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President Donald Trump announced Thursday evening that one of the West Virginia National Guard soldiers wounded in what authorities have described as a deliberate attack near the White House has died.

U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, succumbed to her injuries hours after she and fellow Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, 24, were shot while patrolling near the Farragut West Metro station on Wednesday afternoon. Beckstrom’s death, he said, occurred just before his planned holiday call with deployed U.S. troops. Calling her a “highly respected, young, magnificent person,” Trump told service members, “She’s just passed away. She’s no longer with us.” Wolfe, he added, “is fighting for his life” and remains in critical condition.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro issued a statement shortly afterward, honoring Beckstrom as a hero who “volunteered to serve DC on Thanksgiving for people she never met.” She wrote, “May she rest in peace. It is now time to avenge her death and secure justice.”

Beckstrom enlisted in the West Virginia National Guard in June 2023, where she served as a military police soldier with the 863rd Military Police Company. The commander of the Joint Task Force District of Columbia confirmed Army National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom’s death in a statement Thursday night, hailing her as “a hero.”  Col. Larry Doane said in a statement: “This is a devastating loss to our National Guard family. Spc. Sarah Beckstrom came to the District from West Virginia to make our nation’s capital safe and beautiful. She is a hero and we mourn her passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones and with the West Virginia National Guard.”

Federal officials say the shooting occurred around 2:15 p.m. Wednesday when the suspect — identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal — allegedly approached the Guardsmen and opened fire with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver. Pirro said the shooter first struck one soldier at close range, leaned over, fired again, then shot the second Guardsman repeatedly. Nearby National Guard members responded immediately, confronting and ultimately wounding the attacker before taking him into custody. Lakanwal, 29, was hospitalized under guard.

Authorities described the attack as both “brazen” and “targeted,” noting that investigators believe the suspect drove from Washington state with the intention of harming Guard personnel. FBI Director Kash Patel said the shooting is now part of an “ongoing investigation of terrorism.” Patel confirmed that investigators have executed multiple search warrants across the country, including at the suspect’s residence in Bellingham, Washington, where he lived with his wife and five children. Agents have interviewed family members and associates both there and in San Diego.

According to federal officials, Lakanwal is an Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021 through a Biden administration resettlement initiative and was granted asylum in 2024. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Lakanwal previously worked with “a partner force in Kandahar” alongside U.S. government personnel before the American withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Patel said authorities are scrutinizing the suspect’s background and any potential connections overseas or within the United States. Evidence from the scene has been sent to the FBI laboratory in Quantico as part of what he described as a “coast-to-coast investigation.”

The National Guard remains a major component of the administration’s security strategy for Washington, with more than 2,000 personnel assigned to the city.  Trump said “millions of Americans” were praying for the soldiers’ families. “Unfortunately,” he added, “two families are shattered and destroyed and torn apart as the result of the actions of one man.”

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