US Government Suspends Visa Issuance For Afghan Nationals
US Government Suspends Visa Issuance For Afghan Nationals
The Department of State revealed this in a post on X on Saturday.
The United States has announced that it is pausing visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports.
The Department of State revealed this in a post on X on Saturday.
“The Department of State has IMMEDIATELY paused visa issuance for individuals travelling on Afghan passports.”
“The Department is taking all necessary steps to protect U.S. national security and public safety,” the statement read.
Earlier, SaharaReporters reported that the United States government announced the death of a serving member of the country’s army who was shot by an Afghan national.
The development was communicated in a statement by the White House on Friday.
“The President of the United States announces that U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom of Summersville, West Virginia, one of the National Guardsmen savagely attacked yesterday in Washington, D.C., has just passed away,” the statement read.
Previously, U.S. authorities named the two National Guard members who were shot in Washington, D.C., in an incident the FBI is currently investigating as a potential act of “terrorism.”
The victims, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, were deployed to the U.S. capital as part of a National Guard initiative aimed at curbing rising crime — an effort President Donald Trump has defended despite widespread criticism.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Thursday that both underwent emergency surgery and remained in critical condition.
The attacker, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who arrived in the United States in 2021, reportedly drove across the country before opening fire with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver.
Al Jazeera reports that Lakanwal was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and has been charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill and illegal possession of a firearm.
Trump also issued a sharply worded Thanksgiving message calling for an immediate and permanent halt to immigration from what he described as “all Third World Countries,” while criticizing current U.S. immigration policies and political leaders.
In a lengthy statement posted on his social media handles on Friday, Trump began by addressing supporters:
“A very Happy Thanksgiving salutation to all of our Great American Citizens and Patriots who have been so nice in allowing our Country to be divided, disrupted, carved up, murdered, beaten, mugged, and laughed at, along with certain other foolish countries throughout the World, for being ‘Politically Correct,’ and just plain STUPID, when it comes to Immigration. The official United States Foreign population stands at 53 million people (Census), most of which are on welfare, from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels.”
He argued that immigrant families place a heavy strain on public resources, saying:
“They and their children are supported through massive payments from Patriotic American Citizens who, because of their beautiful hearts, do not want to openly complain or cause trouble in any way, shape, or form. They put up with what has happened to our Country, but it’s eating them alive to do so! A migrant earning $30,000 with a green card will get roughly $50,000 in yearly benefits for their family. The real migrant population is much higher.”
Calling immigration the root cause of what he described as social decline, Trump added:
“This refugee burden is the leading cause of social dysfunction in America, something that did not exist after World War II (Failed schools, high crime, urban decay, overcrowded hospitals, housing shortages, and large deficits, etc.). As an example, hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia are completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota.”
