Shooting of National Guard members prompts flurry of US immigration
restrictions
[December 02, 2025]
By REBECCA SANTANA
WASHINGTON (AP) — Since last week's shooting of two National Guard
members in the nation’s capital by a suspect who is an Afghan national,
the Trump administration announced a flurry of policies aimed at making
it harder for some foreigners to enter or stay in the country.
The administration said it was pausing asylum decisions, reexamining
green card applications for people from countries "of concern” and
halting visas for Afghans who assisted the U.S. war effort.
Days before the shooting, a memo obtained by The Associated Press said
the administration would review the cases of all refugees who entered
the U.S. during the Biden administration.
The stepped up effort to restrict immigration has been harshly
criticized by refugee advocates and those who work with Afghans, saying
it amounts to collective punishment. Critics are also saying it is a
waste of government resources to reopen cases that have already been
processed.
The Trump administration says the new policies are necessary to ensure
that those entering the country — or are already here — do not pose a
security threat.
Here's a look at the major changes announced over roughly a week:
All asylum decisions suspended
The director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow,
said on the social platform X last week that asylum decisions will be
paused “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to
the maximum degree possible.”
Besides the post, no formal guidance has been put forward, so details
remain scarce about the planned pause.
People seeking asylum must show to U.S. officials a threat of
persecution if they were sent back to their home country, whether
because of race, nationality or other grounds. If they're granted
asylum, they're allowed to stay in the U.S. and eventually apply for a
green card and then citizenship.
The Afghan suspect in the National Guard shooting was granted asylum
earlier this year, according to advocate group #AfghanEvac.
The right to apply for asylum was already restricted by the Trump
administration. In January, President Donald Trump issued an executive
order essentially halting asylum for people who have come into the
country through the southern border. Those cases generally go through
immigration courts which are overseen by the Justice Department.
USCIS oversees the asylum process for foreigners the government isn't
trying to remove via immigration courts. While Trump's January order
didn't affect those cases, Edlow's social media post suggests they will
now come under additional scrutiny. Edlow did not say how long the
agency's pause on asylum decisions would last or what happens to people
while those decisions are paused.
Caseloads have been rising for all types of asylum applications. USCIS
said there are currently 1.4 million pending asylum cases at the agency.
Just a few years ago, in 2022, it was 241,280, according to the Office
of Homeland Security Statistics. Separately there are about 2.4 million
pending asylum applications in front of the Justice Department's
immigration courts.
A focus on countries ‘of concern’
On Nov. 27, Edlow said his agency was conducting a “full scale, rigorous
reexamination” of every green card for people he said come from “every
country of concern.”
“American safety is non negotiable,” Edlow said.
The agency said in a press release that same day that it was issuing new
guidance that could make it tougher for people from 19 countries the
administration considers “high-risk,” including Afghanistan, when they
apply for immigration benefits such as applying for green cards or to
stay in the U.S. longer.
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Gerardo Santos lifts his son Xavier, 5, on his shoulders during a
protest in reaction to immigration raids, July 11, 2025, in Oxnard,
Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
The administration had already banned travel to the U.S. for
citizens from 12 of those countries and restricted access for people
from seven others.
No visas for Afghans
Other stricter stricter measures are also directed at Afghans.
On Nov. 26, USCIS said it would be suspending all “immigration
requests relating to Afghan nationals.” That would affect Afghans
already living in the U.S. who are applying for green cards or work
permits or permission to bring family members to the U.S.
Separately, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced late Friday on
X that the State Department has temporarily stopped issuing visas
for all people traveling on Afghan passports.
The Trump administration had already severely limited travel and
immigration from Afghanistan. The one avenue that had remained open
was the Special Immigrant Visa program. Created by Congress, it
allowed Afghans who closely supported the U.S. war effort in
Afghanistan and faced retribution because of their work to emigrate
to America.
But the State Department’s announcement means even that avenue is
now closed.
According to #AfghanEvac, a group that advocates for Afghans coming
to the U.S., about 180,000 Afghans were in the process of applying
for the SIV program.
A review of refugees admitted under the Biden administration
Even before the shooting of two National Guard members, the Trump
administration was planning a sweeping review of tens of thousands
of immigrants who entered the U.S. during the Biden administration
as part of the U.S. Refugee Assistance Program.
That program, first launched in 1980, oversees the process by which
people fleeing persecution can come to the U.S. Refugees are
distinct from people seeking asylum, although they meet the same
criteria. Refugees have to apply and wait outside the U.S. to be
admitted while asylum-seekers do so once they reach the U.S.
Trump suspended the refugee program the day he took office and only
a trickle of refugees have been admitted since then, either white
South Africans or people admitted as part of a lawsuit seeking to
restart the refugee program.
Then on Nov. 21, Edlow said in a memo obtained by The Associated
Press that the administration was going to review all refugees
admitted to the U.S. during the Biden administration. That's nearly
200,000 refugees.
Advocates say refugees already undergo rigorous vetting.
Noem hints at updated travel ban
Late Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem suggested in a
post on X that more changes could be in the offing.
Noting that she had just met with Trump, Noem said she was
recommending a “full travel ban” on countries she said were flooding
the U.S. “with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”
Noem did not specifically name any countries and no timeline was
given. The Department of Homeland Security said in an email Monday,
“We will be announcing the list soon.”
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