Trump says US must re-examine Afghan immigrants who came when Biden was president

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (November 27) called for his government to re-examine Afghan immigrants who entered the country during the former President Joe Biden's administration, after two National Guard soldiers were shot and critically wounded on Wednesday (November 26) in downtown Washington.

The suspect was in custody after suffering gunshot wounds during the attack.

"This heinous assault was an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror," Trump said in pre-taped remarks from Florida, where he is spending the Thanksgiving holiday.

"We must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden."

Following Trump’s remarks, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said late on Wednesday it has stopped processing all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals indefinitely.

Trump has also ordered 500 more guard soldiers deployed to Washington, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters, joining about 2,200 already in the city as part of the president's contentious immigration and crime crackdown targeting Democratic-led cities.

Critics of the Trump administration's immigration policy say it has employed illegally harsh tactics and swept up immigrants indiscriminately, including some with no criminal history and others here legally.