The State Department is ordering its posts to stop processing all Afghan national visas, according to an internal document obtained by the Daily Caller.
Two members of the National Guard were shot in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, allegedly by an Afghan national who entered the country in 2021. West Virginia Army National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom died Thursday from wounds sustained in the attack while Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe remains in critical condition. Following the tragedy, Trump called for every alien who entered the country under former President Joe Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal to be reevaluated.
The State Department is taking action in line with the president’s words, and it is ordering the cancellation of all pending applications for Afghan national visas, according to the internal document obtained by the Caller.
“The Trump administration has no higher priority than ensuring the safety of Americans and has launched a whole-of-government effort to defend America’s national security,” Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement. “That’s why the State Department took action today to pause visa processing for Afghan nationals to enter the United States in the wake of a horrific terror attack against the National Guard.”
Trump addressed the shooting on Wednesday.
“We must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden, and we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here, or add benefit to our country if they can’t love our country, we don’t want them,” Trump said after the shooting.
“America will never bend and never yield in the face of terror, and at the same time, we will not be deterred from the mission the service members were so nobly fulfilling,” he continued.
NEW: The State Department is ordering all its posts to stop processing and to refuse entry to all Afghan national visas, according to an internal document obtained by @DailyCaller. pic.twitter.com/i39Rsm4jE5
— Reagan Reese (@reaganreese_) November 28, 2025
Trump vowed on Friday in a TruthSocial post to halt migration from all “Third World Countries” in response to the shooting.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal allegedly carried out the Wednesday attack, and it has been reported that he previously worked with the U.S. government, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He arrived in the U.S. in 2021 as part of the Biden administration’s “Operation Allies Welcome,” which resettled Afghans who had aided U.S. forces. More than 180,000 Afghans had been relocated and resettled in America since the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, according to a 2024 statement from the State Department. (RELATED: Afghani Suspect In DC National Guard Shooting Let In Under Program Biden Said Was Safe)
Lakanwal applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted it in April 2025, Reuters reported, citing documents.
The suspect allegedly shouted “Allahu akbar!” before opening fire with a revolver, independent journalist Julio Rojas reported.
“This heinous assault was an act of evil and an act of hatred and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity,” Trump said during his Wednesday address.
Editor’s Note: This piece was updated with a statement from the State Department.
