What we covered
• Immigration crackdown: The State Department announced a pause on visa issuance for Afghan passport holders, while the US immigration service said it will halt all asylum decisions. President Donald Trump had said his administration will work to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries,” though it’s unclear which countries he was referring to.
• National Guard killing: His comments came after he announced the death of a National Guard member following the shooting by a suspect who is an Afghan national. According to sources, his family members said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Accelerating aftermath: Trump said the administration is looking into whether to deport the suspect’s family, and US agencies have announced reviews of asylum cases and some green card recipients.
Our live coverage has ended. Read the latest here.
Recent developments on Trump’s immigration crackdown, DC shooting suspect and victim
New details about the man accused of shooting two members of the West Virginia National Guard are emerging as investigators look into the incident.
US agencies have also announced a halt on some immigration processes.
These are recent developments we’ve learned:
Trump escalates immigration crackdown: After the shooting suspect was identified as an Afghan national, the Trump administration vowed to deliver on an escalated response to immigration. Today, the director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the US has halted decisions on asylum applications to ensure that migrants are vetted and screened “to the maximum degree possible.” Also, the State Department paused the issuance of visas for travelers with Afghan passports.
New details about suspect emerge: Authorities have interviewed Rahmanullah Lakanwal’s spouse, each one of his five children and others around him, multiple law enforcement officials familiar with the case told CNN. According to the sources, family members revealed that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, which they said stemmed from the fighting he did in Afghanistan, where he was in a CIA-sponsored-and-trained “Zero Unit” of Afghan special forces.
Tributes for shooting victim: People in Sarah Beckstrom’s life described the slain National Guard member as “a hero” who was loved and celebrated by her community and who just wanted to “help people out.” Her former co-worker said the past few days “have been devastating” for the small and tight-knit local community in West Virginia. The other victim, National Guard member Andrew Wolfe, remains in critical condition.
CNN’s Gabe Cohen, Nicky Robertson and David Brooks contributed reporting.
US halting all asylum decisions to ensure migrants are vetted and screened “to the maximum degree possible”
The US has halted decisions on asylum applications, the director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on X.
“USCIS has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible,” USCIS Director Joe Edlow said today in the post. “The safety of the American people always comes first.”
CNN has reached out to USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the agency, for additional details.
According to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, there are more than 2.2 million immigrants waiting for asylum decisions or hearings as at end August 2025.
After an Afghan national was identified as the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, the Trump administration has ramped up its anti-immigration efforts.
USCIS announced yesterday that it will reexamine all green cards issued to people from 19 countries “of concern,” including Afghanistan.
DHS also said yesterday that it will review all asylum cases that were approved under former President Joe Biden.
State Department pauses visa issuance for travelers with Afghan passports
The State Department has paused the issuance of visas for travelers with Afghan passports, the department said on X today.
The announcement comes as President Donald Trump doubles down on aggressive anti-immigration policies.
After an Afghan national was identified as the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, Trump blamed President Joe Biden for allowing the suspect into the country as he called for the reexamination of every person who entered from Afghanistan under the previous administration.
He also said on Truth Social that he would “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries,” without specifying which countries he was referring to.
This post was updated with more background on the Trump administration’s crackdown.
GOP senator calls for "compassion" after Trump promises immigration crackdown
Republican Sen. John Curtis today called for “compassion” when considering immigration policy, as President Donald Trump is promising a swift immigration crackdown following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, this week.
Curtis’s comments are in stark contrast to Trump’s own rhetoric. The president pledged to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries,” in a Truth Social post yesterday, adding he would “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States.”
The Utah Republican also took a different tack on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s vow to investigate Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly for his role in a controversial video in which six Democratic lawmakers urged members of the military and intelligence community not to follow illegal orders.
After the Pentagon’s announcement, Curtis was one of only two Senate Republicans to defend Kelly. In a post on X, he called the Arizona Democrat “someone whose career has been defined by service.”
Asked about this post, Curtis said, “I haven’t had a chance to actually talk to my other collleagues to see how they feel, but I knew it was important for me.”
Analysis: Will Trump’s threat to "permanently pause migration" from some countries make America safer?
The White House is doubling down on its aggressive immigration policies after the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, by an Afghan national suspect.
CNN’s senior law enforcement analyst and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe explores whether President Donald Trump’s threat to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries” will make America safer.
Watch here:
CNN’s senior law enforcement analyst and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe explores Trump's most recent immigration crackdown threat.
Authorities have learned in interviews with family that suspect may suffer from PTSD, sources tell CNN
As the investigation into the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, continues, authorities have interviewed the suspect’s spouse, each one of his five children and others around him, multiple law enforcement officials familiar with the case told CNN.
According to the sources, family members of the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, which they said stemmed from the fighting he did in Afghanistan, where he fought in a CIA-sponsored-and-trained “Zero Unit” of Afghan special forces.
Worshippers gather at Bellingham mosque that suspect had attended
Worshippers gathered for Friday prayer at a local mosque in Bellingham, Washington, where the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members resided with his family.
Two residents who attended service told CNN that they had previously seen the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, at the mosque. One resident, who did not want to be named, said Lakanwal does not speak English.
Another resident, Mubashar Othi, said he’s “sad” about the shooting. “It puts a bad impression on Bellingham,” he said.
Othi and a local police officer, who said he was at the mosque as a precaution, said there were fewer worshippers than usual today.
Detective Travis Hauri said the parking lots are packed on a typical day. CNN noticed only a few cars today.
Bellingham is a city about 90 miles north of Seattle and about 24 miles south of the Canadian border.
Beckstrom’s death has “been devastating” for small tight-knit West Virginia town, her former co-worker says
Sarah Beckstrom was a “good employee” who was loved and celebrated by her community, according to one of her former co-workers.
Alissa Clayton, who works for the Custard Stand in Webster, West Virginia, said the past few days “have been devastating” for the small and tight-knit local community.
“I mean, Webster County has a very strong community. We just really care deeply for each other, and we want to see each other be successful,” Clayton told CNN’s Gabe Cohen.
She said the community is particularly impacted by Beckstrom’s death due to the lack of answers for a motive behind the fatal incident.
“It shakes everybody because there’s not a lot of reason. There’s not a lot of clarity of why it happened and it’s very frustrating,” Clayton said.
She said that since Beckstrom’s death, there has been an “outpouring of people posting on Facebook and talking about Sarah and telling stories about how she was and what they knew about her: her teachers, her bus driver, her friends.”
“I think she’ll be remembered as the hero,” Clayton said.
Catch up on the latest we know since a National Guard member was killed in a shooting in Washington, DC
In the aftermath of the ambush-style shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, in which one was killed, the Trump administration has ordered further crackdown on immigration. At the same time, we are learning more about the victims and piecing together more information on the suspect.
Here’s the latest:
• On the victims: The grieving father of 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom said his “baby girl has passed to glory.” Her former boyfriend told CNN that Beckstrom’s long-term goal was to join the FBI. “She just wanted to be a part of the change, be a part of the difference, and help people out,” he said. The other victim, National Guard member Andrew Wolfe, remains in critical condition after surgery.
• Potential charge: The 29-year-old alleged shooter Rahmanullah Lakanwal will face a murder charge following Beckstrom’s death, according to Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia.
• The question of vetting: The suspect is an Afghan national who worked with the CIA in Afghanistan and came to the US in 2021 under a program following the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Trump administration has blamed the Biden administration for admitting the suspect into the country. However, his application for asylum was approved this year by the Trump administration, multiple law enforcement officials told CNN. Afghans admitted to the US under Operation Allies Welcome program did, in fact, go through vetting in addition to background checks already required for working with US government agencies.
• Immigration crackdown: Trump has ordered a review of green-card holders from Afghanistan and other “countries of concern,” and the Department of Homeland Security said yesterday it will review all asylum cases that were approved under Biden. More than 190,000 Afghans have resettled in the US since August 2021, according to the State Department.
• Piecing together more information: The suspect lived in an apartment complex in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife, five children and two nephews, according to a neighbor who requested to remain anonymous to protect his privacy. The suspect was a “simple and nice guy,” who attended a local mosque, the neighbor said. But the suspect had not gone to the mosque in over two weeks, he added. The neighbor said to his knowledge, the suspect was unemployed and had been looking for a job.
• Fear: Afghans across the country are feeling “great fear” as Trump escalates his anti-immigration rhetoric, the president of a nonprofit that relocates and resettles Afghan people told CNN today. Shawn VanDiver, the president of AfghanEvac, said the suspect’s action is not representative of the Afghan people who “absolutely decry what this man did,” VanDiver said.
CNN’s Yahya Abou-Ghazala, Tala Alrajjal and Andy Rose contributed to this post.
Neighbor of suspect says he had not gone to mosque in over two weeks
The suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members lived in an apartment complex in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife, five children and two nephews, according to a neighbor in the building who requested to remain anonymous to protect his privacy.
The shooting suspect was a “simple and nice guy,” who attended a local mosque, the neighbor said. But the suspect had not gone to the mosque in over two weeks, he added.
“I didn’t see him, he disappeared,” the neighbor said. “He was not coming … somebody said he’s sick, someone else said he went somewhere.”
The neighbor said to his knowledge, the suspect was unemployed and had been looking for a job. The neighbor said the suspect once told him that he worked with the military in Afghanistan.
Treasury secretary says US will cut off federal benefits for undocumented immigrants under Trump directive
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said today that the department is moving to block undocumented immigrants from receiving federal tax-based benefits, acting on orders from President Donald Trump to reserve the programs for US citizens only.
The secretary said the Treasury Department will propose regulations clarifying aspects of the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Additional Child Tax Credit, the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Saver’s Match Credit.
“@USTreasury announced that it will issue proposed regulations clarifying that the refunded portions of certain individual income tax benefits are no longer available to illegal and other non-qualified aliens, covering the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Additional Child Tax Credit, the American Opportunity Tax Credit, and the Saver’s Match Credit,” Bessent wrote.
It’s the administration’s latest step in tightening benefit eligibility as part of its broader immigration enforcement agenda, which it has escalated following Wednesday’s shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC.
Sarah Beckstrom wanted to "be a part of the solutions," says CEO of behavioral health service where she worked
Sarah Beckstrom — the National Guard member who died after Wednesday’s shooting in Washington, DC — had only worked at Seneca Health Services since January, but many employees at the behavioral health center have watched her grow up, because her mom worked there for years.
“Many of us have had knowledge and contact with Sarah as she grew up,” Seneca Health Services CEO Marcie Vaughan told CNN. “Webster County is a very small community, so the members of our staff have been a part of Sarah’s life for some time.”
Beckstrom worked as a community engagement specialist and worked with people facing mental health challenges to get them the help they needed.
Vaughan said she has been in touch with Beckstrom’s mother and asked for prayers for the family.
"My baby girl has passed to glory," the father of National Guard member says
The father of Sarah Beckstrom, a National Guard member who died after an ambush-style shooting in Washington, DC, said his “baby girl has passed to glory.”
In his short post on Facebook, Gary Beckstrom asked people reaching out to him not to be offended by his lack of responses.
“This has been a horrible tragedy,” he added.
His 20-year-old daughter was one of two members of the West Virginia National Guard shot in the capital on Wednesday. The other victim, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, was critically injured.
Head of resettlement nonprofit says Afghans are fearful over Trump’s immigration crackdown
Afghans across the country are feeling “great fear” as President Donald Trump escalates his anti-immigration rhetoric in the wake of the deadly shooting of National Guard troops in West Virginia, the president of a nonprofit that relocates and resettles Afghan people told CNN today.
Trump has ordered a review of green-card holders from Afghanistan and other “countries of concern,” and the Department of Homeland Security said yesterday it will review all asylum cases that were approved under former President Joe Biden. The suspect in the shooting is an Afghan national who officials say came to the US in 2021 under a program following the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
More than 190,000 Afghans have resettled in the United States since August 2021, according to the State Department. VanDiver said the suspect’s action is not representative of the Afghan people.
“(Afghan people) absolutely decry what this man did,” VanDiver said. “They are very upset.”
West Virginia governor visited with victims' families, says Guard members were in DC for "the right reasons"
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said that he visited the hospital three times and spoke with families of the two National Guard members who were shot in Washington, DC.
“Andrew’s in very serious condition,” he added later in the morning, referring to US Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, the National Guard member who is still alive, telling CNN that he’s encouraging people to “pray and be as supportive of Andrew as we can.”
Morrisey said he has spoken with both the president and the attorney general as well as others since the shooting, but added that he’s focused on the troops and how the shooting is impacting West Virginia.
When asked if he would make the same choice today to send members of West Virginia’s National Guard to DC, he said:
“The mission in Washington, DC, has been successful. I don’t think we should allow this heinous act to influence that,” he said.
Former boyfriend of National Guard member remembers her kind nature, love for hunting and fishing
The ex-boyfriend of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom took CNN to Salmon Run, a special spot in West Virginia where the two used to go to swim, fish, or just hang out during their six-year relationship.
Beckstrom died after she and another West Virginia National Guard member were shot by a gunman while on duty in Washington, DC on Wednesday.
“She was ecstatic, outgoing, a little more of a homebody, though,” her former boyfriend Adam Carr said of Beckstrom.
Carr also recounted Beckstrom’s passion for hunting and fishing.
“Last hunting season, she was ecstatic to go out. And when she got her first buck, she was beyond excited. I was getting letters about it and pictures, and she couldn’t explain how happy she was,” said Carr.
Beckstrom’s long-term goal was to join the FBI. “Criminal investigation and stuff like that, she was always intrigued by it,” he said.
“She just wanted to be a part of the change, be a part of the difference, and help people out,” Carr explained.
Despite hostility from the public that Carr said Beckstrom faced during her deployment to DC, she eventually enjoyed her experience and volunteered to stay longer. “She warmed up to it. She made more friends. Was going out, seeing things as they were patrolling. She was seeing monuments, enjoying it.”
West Virginia senator says National Guard needed to ensure safety in DC
West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito today justified the presence of National Guard troops from her state in Washington, DC, after a shooting in the capital Wednesday left one member dead and another fighting for his life.
“The crime statistics are way down,” the Republican senator said on Fox News this morning after watching a montage of Democratic lawmakers criticizing Trump’s moves to bring troops into DC. “I wonder if my colleagues ever walked around the city and talked to the Guard members who were there.”
The two Guard members who were shot Wednesday in Washington, DC, had been on orders in the city since August, according to a statement from the West Virginia National Guard. West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey sent deployed troops to DC in August at President Donald Trump’s request.
She added they were a “presence that were there to indicate to citizens, to visitors, to dignitaries, to whoever is in the capital city, that peace is there and you’re going to feel safe.”
Remember: During the summer, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said the surge in federal law enforcement “enhanced” the capacity of local police officers and led to fewer crimes, but also added that it had also contributed to a “break in trust” between police and residents.
Trump on Wednesday called for 500 more troops to be sent to the capital, even as a federal judge considers the legality of the deployments. Last week, a federal judge ruled that Trump’s Defense Department illegally deployed the National Guard in the district. The order for that decision is delayed to allow time for an appeal.
What we know about National Guard shooting suspect
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the 29-year-old Afghan national who US Attorney Jeanine Pirro says will face a charge of first-degree murder in the death of West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, first came to the US in September 2021, shortly after the chaotic US withdrawal from Kabul.
Lakanwal was one of more than 190,000 Afghans admitted to the US under Operation Allies Welcome and Enduring Welcome, according to the State Department. A senior US official told CNN Lakanwal began working with the CIA around 2011.
Despite the Trump administration’s claims to the contrary, Lakanwal was vetted several times, both while working with the US in his native country and in the process of immigrating. He also would have undergone continuous, annual vetting in the wake of the failed terror plot disrupted before the election last year in Oklahoma, which involved an Afghan evacuee, a senior US official told CNN.
He was granted asylum in April by the Trump administration, multiple law enforcement officials told CNN. Asked about that yesterday, President Donald Trump responded, “When they’re flown in, it’s very hard to get them out. No matter how you want to do it, it’s very hard to get them out.”
Lakanwal’s work history in the US is not fully known, but Amazon confirms that a person with that name was an independent contractor with the company for one month this past summer, working for their Amazon Flex delivery service.
Lakanwal lived with his wife and children in Bellingham, Washington, according to US Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
“What we know about him is that he drove his vehicle across country from the state of Washington with the intended target of coming to our nation’s capital,” Pirro said.
The suspect shot Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe — who is still hospitalized in critical condition — with a revolver, said Pirro.
Lakanwal was shot by another member of the National Guard and is hospitalized under heavy security, authorities said.
Trump administration says vetting of suspect — who was approved for asylum in April — was insufficient
Trump administration officials continue to blame the Biden administration for admitting the suspected shooter of two members of the National Guard into the country after he worked with the CIA in Afghanistan.
“Let’s stop namby-pambying around with this, ‘Oh, he was vetted.’ There was no ‘vetted.’ The welcome mat was thrown down,” US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Fox News this morning.
The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is an Afghan national who officials say came to the US in 2021 under a program following the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan. His application for asylum was approved this year by the Trump administration, multiple law enforcement officials told CNN.
Afghans admitted to the US under Operation Allies Welcome program did, in fact, go through vetting in addition to background checks already required for working with US government agencies. A senior US official told CNN yesterday, “He was clean on all checks.”
But Pirro argued there was no practical way to do an extensive background check on an applicant like Lakanwal following the chaotic US withdrawl.
“What do we do? Call the FBI in Afghanistan and say, ‘Gee, do you have anything on this guy?’” said Pirro.
