President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that his administration will undertake a full review of all individuals from Afghanistan who entered the United States during the Biden administration, following a shocking shooting near the White House that left two National Guard troops in critical condition. Trump said the suspect in the attack is an Afghan national admitted into the country under Biden-era policies, prompting immediate action from federal agencies and renewed scrutiny of the previous administration’s mass-entry program for Afghan nationals.
Speaking from Mar-a-Lago, Trump said the incident revealed precisely why his administration has been prioritizing a hard reset of immigration and national-security vetting procedures. He argued that the Biden administration allowed thousands of Afghan nationals to enter the United States with little or no meaningful screening, creating what he described as a serious security blind spot.
“We must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden,” Trump said. “And we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here or add benefit to our country.”
Trump said the United States must return to a simple principle: “If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them.”
His remarks came just hours after the National Guard soldiers were ambushed near the White House. The suspect was taken into custody shortly after the attack. Federal authorities have not yet released a motive, but Trump said the suspect’s immigration background underscored the urgency of revisiting Biden-era admissions.
The Biden administration admitted tens of thousands of Afghan refugees after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, granting them special parole protections and expedited entry despite warnings from national-security experts that the vetting process was rushed and insufficient. Reports later revealed that Biden officials waived key checks and allowed individuals without proper identification or documentation to enter the country.
Trump said Wednesday’s shooting demonstrated the consequences of those decisions. “This attack underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation,” he said, linking the incident to broader concerns about terrorism, violent crime, and border security.
Within hours of Trump’s announcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued its own statement on X declaring an immediate halt to all immigration processing related to Afghan nationals. “The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission,” the agency wrote.
The administration’s move aligns with Trump’s broader immigration agenda, which includes mass deportations of criminal aliens, reinstatement of strict vetting protocols, and aggressive border enforcement. Trump has repeatedly argued that the Biden administration’s immigration decisions—especially those involving Afghanistan—were reckless and politically motivated.
As the nation absorbed news of the attack, Trump also confirmed he had ordered an additional 500 National Guard troops deployed around Washington, D.C., in response to the shooting. The reinforcement is part of an ongoing initiative to restore security in the capital after years of rising crime and eroding public safety.
The two injured Guardsmen remain in critical condition. Federal agencies continue to investigate the shooting, and the review of Afghan entrants is expected to begin immediately.
Trump said his administration would not hesitate to take whatever measures are required to protect the country. “We are done gambling with America’s security,” he said. “That era is over.”
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