The Trump administration on Friday directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers to pause all asylum decisions in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C., according to an internal directive obtained by CBS News and two sources familiar with the order.

The move is the administration`s latest effort to tighten the American immigration system after Wednesday`s attack, which was allegedly carried out by an Afghan man who was granted asylum by U.S. immigration officials earlier this year.

Asylum officers at USCIS, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, were instructed to refrain from approving, denying or closing asylum applications received by the agency, according to the internal notice and sources, who requested anonymity to describe an action that has not been publicly announced.

On Thursday, the Trump administration said it would start a review of asylum approvals under the Biden administration, citing the shooting of the two National Guard members, one of whom has died. The man accused of shooting the soldiers, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is an Afghan national who entered the U.S. in 2021 during former President Joe Biden`s presidency and was granted asylum this spring under the second Trump administration.

The action relayed to USCIS asylum officers internally on Friday amounts to an indefinite pause on asylum adjudications for all nationalities. Asylum cases are filed by foreigners who claim they will suffer persecution if deported or returned to their home countries because of certain factors, including their race, nationality, religion or political views.

"Do not enter any decision information for affirmative cases," a USCIS notice to asylum officers in one office read, referring to asylum cases overseen by the agency. "Defensive" cases, the other type of asylum applications, are filed by those facing deportation and are decided by federal immigration judges at the Justice Department.

Officers were told the pause applied to all USCIS asylum cases, including those filed by Afghans who arrived under a Biden administration resettlement effort dubbed "Operation Allies Welcome." They were also told that in-person appointments for asylum applicants to find out what decisions have been made on their cases would be canceled, at least for Monday.

The guidance said officers could continue asylum application interviews and review cases up to the point of making a decision. "Once you`ve reached decision entry, stop and hold," the directive said.

In a statement to CBS News Friday, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow confirmed CBS News` reporting.

"USCIS has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible," Edlow said. "The safety of the American people always comes first."

According to Homeland Security officials, Lakanwal was allowed to enter the U.S. in September 2021 through the humanitarian parole policy, which the Biden administration used to resettle tens of thousands of Afghans evacuated following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. He applied for asylum in 2024 and his application was granted earlier this year, the officials said.

Following Wednesday`s shooting, the Trump administration has unveiled a series of immigration measures it argues will bolster the government`s ability to mitigate the chances of similar attacks.

Officials first announced an indefinite pause on the processing of all legal immigration applications - ranging from citizenship and green card cases, to requests for work permits and asylum - filed by applicants from Afghanistan.

Edlow, the USCIS director, then announced he had ordered, at President Trump`s direction, a "full scale, rigorous reexamination" of green card cases involving nationals affected by a presidential proclamation that fully or partially suspended travel and immigration from 19 countries. That list, released in June and which the White House referred to as a "travel ban," includes Afghanistan and other countries in Asia and the Middle East, such as Iran, as well as African nations, including Somalia and Sudan. Mr. Trump`s order also applies to nationals of Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela.

USCIS published a policy Thursday that allows adjudicators to cite concerns about the inability to properly vet and identify green card applicants from the group of 19 countries as a potential reason to deny their cases.

"Certain countries (including but not limited to Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, and Venezuela) lack a competent or central authority for issuing passports and civil documents among other concerns, which directly relates to USCIS` ability to meaningfully assess eligibility for benefit requests including identity, and therefore whether an alien warrants a favorable exercise of discretion," USCIS said in its guidance.

Late Thursday, Mr. Trump vowed to "permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries," writing on Truth Social that his administration would revoke the citizenship of those it deems "undermine domestic tranquility" and deport any foreigner "who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization."

The White House has not yet clarified publicly what actions would be taken to execute the president`s announcement.

AnsarPress