Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) is demanding a sweeping crackdown on immigration from Muslim-majority countries after an Afghan national shot two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, D.C.
“The Afghan terrorist who shot 2 National Guard heroes in D.C. was welcomed into this country with open arms by Joe Biden,” Tuberville wrote on X, accusing the past administration of failing to protect Americans. “We must IMMEDIATELY BAN all ISLAM immigrants and DEPORT every single Islamist who is living among us just waiting to attack.”
Tuberville’s call came as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it will indefinitely halt immigration from Afghanistan. President Trump pressed his administration to review cases of refugees evacuated after the Taliban takeover in 2021.
Officials said the suspect, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the U.S. in September 2021 as part of “Operation Allies Welcome.” The program allowed Afghan nationals into the country based on their support of U.S. forces during the war. CNN reported that his asylum application was approved this year under the Trump administration.
Republicans seized on the shooting as proof the program was risky. “Joe Biden rushed tens of thousands of Afghans into our nation,” Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) posted, arguing the U.S. is now seeing “horrible consequences.” He urged Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to locate and investigate everyone brought to the U.S. through the program.
Vice President J.D. Vance also weighed in, saying critics once called him a “racist” for questioning Afghan resettlement. “They shouldn’t have been in our country,” he posted.
Lakanwal was shot by National Guard members and arrested at the scene, investigators said. Police recovered a handgun and are working to determine how he acquired it. The two injured guardsmen were attacked near the Farragut Square Metro station around 2:15 p.m. Both remain hospitalized in critical condition.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called the shooting “horrific and unconscionable,” and said the suspect “will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Speaking from Mar-a-Lago, President Trump labeled the attack “an act of terror.” He ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to deploy an additional 500 National Guard members to Washington, adding to more than 2,000 already stationed there. Hegseth linked the move to efforts to combat crime. “The drop in crime has been historic. The increase in safety and security has been historic.”
A federal judge temporarily blocked new deployments, but the ruling is on hold until Dec. 11 while the administration appeals.
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