President Donald Trump has used the fatal shooting of a National Guard member in Washington DC to intensify his administration's crackdown on immigration, vowing to permanently pause migration from all Third World countries. The suspected gunman, an Afghan national who had worked with the CIA and was evacuated to the US in 2021, has been charged with murder. Trump's social media posts on Thanksgiving called for ending federal benefits to noncitizens and stripping citizenship from naturalized immigrants deemed incompatible with Western civilization.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller defended the response, arguing that mass migration imports societal problems. However, critics point out that the US helped destabilise Afghanistan through its 20-year military intervention, which created conditions forcing many Afghans to flee. The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was part of a CIA-backed paramilitary unit accused of human rights abuses, and his mental health reportedly deteriorated after arriving in the US.
Lakanwal entered the US under Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era programme for Afghans who worked with US forces. He struggled to adjust, spending weeks in isolation and unable to keep a job. The incident has reignited debate over America's responsibility for allies left behind in conflict zones and the consequences of its foreign interventions.
