In a statement on Wednesday, President Donald Trump condemned the recent attack on two National Guard members near the White House, calling it a “heinous assault.” He argued that relaxed immigration policies present “the single greatest national security threat facing our nation.”

Trump emphasized, “No country can tolerate such a risk to our very survival.”

In a video shared on social media, Trump highlighted his commitment to overhauling the U.S. immigration system and intensifying scrutiny on current migrants. Despite already pursuing assertive deportation measures, the president made it clear that his focus remains steadfast, especially in light of this shooting incident.

Authorities, including Trump and two law enforcement officials, identified the suspect as an Afghan national. This individual reportedly entered the U.S. in September 2021, following the chaotic fall of Kabul’s government amidst the Taliban’s resurgence, during which the U.S. was rapidly evacuating people.

The 29-year-old suspect was part of Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration initiative that resettled thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. This program brought about 76,000 Afghans to the U.S., many of whom had supported American troops and diplomats as interpreters and translators.

It has since faced intense scrutiny from Trump and his allies, congressional Republicans and some government watchdogs over gaps in the vetting process and the speed of admissions, even as advocates say it offered a lifeline to people at risk of Taliban reprisals.

Trump described Afghanistan as “a hellhole on earth,” and he said his administration would review everyone who entered from the country under President Joe Biden — a measure his administration had already been planning before the incident.

During his remarks, Trump also swung his focus to Minnesota, where he complained about “hundreds of thousands of Somalians” who are “ripping apart that once-great state.”

Minnesota has the country’s largest Somali community, roughly 87,000 people. Many came as refugees over the years.

The reference to immigrants with no connection to Wednesday’s developments was a reminder of the scope of Trump’s ambitions to rein in migration.

Administration officials have been ramping up deportations of people in the country illegally, as well as clamping down on refugee admissions. The focus has involved the realignment of resources at federal agencies, stirring concern about potentially undermining other law enforcement priorities.

However, Trump’s remarks were a signal that scrutiny of migrants and the nation’s borders will only increase. He said he wants to remove anyone “who does not belong here or does not add benefit to our country.”

“If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them,” Trump added.

Afterward, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it would indefinitely stop processing all immigration requests for Afghan nationals pending a review of security and vetting protocols.

Supporters of Afghan evacuees said they feared that people who escaped danger from the Taliban would now face renewed suspicion and scrutiny.

“I don’t want people to leverage this tragedy into a political ploy,” said Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac.

He said Wednesday’s shooting should not shed a negative light on the tens of thousands of Afghan nationals who have gone through the various legal pathways to resettling in the U.S. and those who await in the pipeline.

Under Operation Allies Welcome, tens of thousands of Afghans were first brought to U.S. military bases around the country, where they completed immigration processing and medical evaluations before settling into the country. Four years later, there are still scores of Afghans who were evacuated at transit points in the Middle East and Europe as part of the program.

Those in countries like Qatar and Albania, who have undergone the rigorous process, have been left in limbo since Trump entered his second term and paused the program as part of his series of executive actions cracking down on immigration.

Vice President JD Vance, writing on social media, criticized Biden for “opening the floodgate to unvetted Afghan refugees,” adding that “they shouldn’t have been in our country.”

“Already some voices in corporate media chirp that our immigration policies are too harsh,” he said. “Tonight is a reminder of why they’re wrong.”

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