The Trump administration has stopped issuing visas for Afghan nationals and has halted decisions on all asylum applications, after a 29-year-old Afghan opened fire near the White House last Wednesday, killing a soldier with the West Virginia National Guard and leaving another in critical condition. Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been charged with first-degree murder and will likely face terrorism charges. Lakanwal previously worked in a CIA-backed Afghan Army unit known as a Zero Unit. He entered the United States in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a program that saw the U.S. evacuate thousands of Afghans who faced reprisals from the Taliban over their support of the U.S. occupation. He applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted refugee status last April, under the second Trump administration. President Trump called the attack an “act of hatred” committed by an “animal” and pledged that his administration would re-vet every Afghan granted asylum in the U.S. Meanwhile, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on Afghanistan has spoken out against collective punishment. Richard Bennett said in a statement, “The perpetrator should face accountability, but the entire Afghan community must not be punished due to the actions of one individual.”