The Trump administration acted swiftly and rightly this week by immediately pausing visa issuance for anyone traveling on an Afghan passport after a brazen attack in Washington, D.C. that left a West Virginia National Guardswoman dead and another soldier fighting for his life. Hardworking Americans have every right to expect the federal government to put national security before political theater, and this pause is a necessary first step to get that job done.
Authorities have identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan who has been charged with first-degree murder and assault after allegedly ambushing the Guardsmen near the White House. Reports say he arrived in the U.S. through post-withdrawal resettlement programs and was granted asylum this year, underscoring the yawning gaps in how admissions were handled under previous administrations. The American people deserve the truth about who has been allowed into our country and why.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services promptly announced an indefinite halt to processing immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals, and asylum decisions have been paused while agencies reexamine vetting and security protocols. Director Joseph Edlow has directed a full-scale review of green cards from countries of concern — a common-sense move after such a terrible breach near the nation’s most secure corridors. If Washington won’t do the hard work of vetting properly, then leaders who prioritize American lives must step in and correct it.
Some in the media and the usual open-borders crowd will scream about this being partisan or cruel, but the facts are what matter: the suspect’s arrival and path into the country are now under scrutiny, and Americans cannot afford to treat every violent incident as an inconvenience to be explained away. Even reporting that shows he underwent prior vetting should not be an excuse for complacency — vetting that fails to keep violent actors out is a vetting that must be overhauled. Our national security cannot be sacrificed on the altar of political correctness or exhausted bureaucracy.
Victims’ advocates and refugee groups are predictably outraged, calling the pause unlawful and harmful to Afghans who aided Americans overseas. Those concerns deserve consideration only after we ensure that programs meant to protect our allies do not also expose our citizens to preventable danger; compassion must never come at the cost of security. Congress should back the administration in demanding accountability, tighten rules where necessary, and close legal loopholes that allow risk to walk across our borders.
We mourn Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and we demand justice for her and for Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, who remains in critical condition — our prayers and support are with their families and comrades. This tragedy should harden our resolve to protect American towns and American streets first, and to stop treating immigration policy like a public relations exercise. Lawmakers who love this country will stand with the troops and the American people, not with open-borders ideology that puts us all at risk.
