US halts all asylum claims following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington DC

The US government has halted all asylum decisions after an Afghan national shot two National Guard members in Washington DC on Wednesday, one of whom has now died.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, allegedly shot Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, near the White House.

They were both rushed to hospital in critical condition, and Ms Beckstrom died on Thursday.

US Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office said the charges against Mr Lakanwal, now include one count of first-degree murder and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.

Mr Trump called the shooting a "terrorist attack" and criticised the Biden administration for enabling Afghans who worked with US forces during the Afghanistan war to enter the US.

Ms Beckstrom and Mr Wolfe were deployed with the West Virginia National Guard as part of President Donald Trump's crime-fighting mission that federalised the DC police force.

Ms Beckstrom enlisted in 2023, the same year she graduated high school, and served with distinction as a military police officer with the 863rd Military Police Company, the West Virginia National Guard said in a statement.

"She exemplified leadership, dedication, and professionalism," the statement said, adding that Ms Beckstrom "volunteered to serve as part of Operation DC Safe and Beautiful, helping to ensure the safety and security of our nation's capital".

The president called Ms Beckstrom an "incredible person, outstanding in every single way".

Trump wants to 'permanently pause migration'

Less than 24 hours after the shooting, Trump officials began ordering widespread reviews of immigration policies.

The president has said he wants to "permanently pause migration" from poorer nations and expel millions of immigrants from the country.

On Wednesday night local time, Mr Trump called for the reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees who had entered under the Biden administration's "Operation Allies Welcome" initiative, that brought roughly 76,000 people to the country.

The program has faced intense scrutiny from Mr Trump and others over allegations of gaps in the vetting process, even as advocates say there was extensive vetting and the program offered a lifeline to people at risk of Taliban reprisals.

"I will permanently pause migration from all Third World countries to allow the US system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden's autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States," Mr Trump said.

He did not say which countries he considered "Third World," nor what he meant by a permanent pause.

Asked about the president's comment on "Third World" countries, the US Department of Homeland Security referred Reuters to 19 countries listed in a June travel ban.

On Friday, Mr Trump posted again on social media to say he was rescinding any document that Mr Biden signed using an autopen, a tool that US presidents, including Mr Trump, have used for decades, often to answer mail or sign checks, or sometimes to meet authorisation deadlines while travelling outside the capital.

The director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, said in a post on the social media platform X that all asylum decisions would be paused "until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible".

Who is Rahmanullah Lakanwal?

Lakanwal entered the US in 2021, after working with the CIA during the Afghanistan war.

He entered through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that resettled Afghans after the US withdrawal from the country, officials said

Lakanwal applied for asylum during the Biden administration, but his asylum was approved under the Trump administration, #AfghanEvac said in a statement.

Lakanwal has been living in Bellingham, Washington, about 130 kilometres north of Seattle, with his wife and five children, said his former landlord, Kristina Widman.

Mohammad Sherzad, a neighbour of Lakanwal's in Bellingham, told the AP in a phone interview on Friday that Lakanwal was polite, quiet and spoke very little English.

Mr Sherzad said he attended the same mosque as Lakanwal and had heard from other members that Lakanwal was struggling to find work.

Some of his children attended the same school as Lakanwal's children, Mr Sherzad said.

"He was so quiet and the kids were so polite, they were so playful. But we didn't see anything bad about him. He was looking OK," Mr Sherzad said.

Mr Sherzad said Lakanwal "disappeared" about two weeks ago.

Lakanwal had briefly worked as an independent contractor for Amazon Flex, which allows people to use their own cars to deliver packages, a company spokesperson told The Associated Press.

Lakanwal delivered packages from the end of July to the end of August but had not been active since

Reuters/ AP