(A)Political - November 29th

Good morning everyone,

It’s been a full week of movement in the Capitol. Time to find out why.

The 47th President has vowed to take action against certain immigration policies following the deadly attack on National Guard members in D.C. Per Trump, all of Biden’s orders via Autopen are null and void. Trump rescinds invitation to South African President for the G20 Summit in Miami next year.

• Trump Vows Crackdown On Immigration Following D.C. Attack

• Autopen No More

• South Africa Blocked From Attending 2026 G20 Summit

Trump Vows Crackdown On Immigration Following D.C. Attack

_{By: Atlas}

A 29-year-old Afghan national opened fire on two National Guard members stationed near the White House on Wednesday, November 26, in what authorities are now investigating as a potential act of terrorism. The attack, which occurred near the Farragut Square Metro Station, resulted in the death of U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, of Webster Springs, West Virginia, who succumbed to her injuries on Thanksgiving Day.

Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, of the U.S. Air Force, remains in critical condition. Both service members were part of President Donald Trump's deployment of approximately 2,000 National Guard troops to patrol the nation's capital.

The suspect, identified by officials as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the U.S. on Sept. 8, 2021, as part of "Operation Allies Welcome," a program established during the Biden administration to resettle Afghans who assisted American forces during the two-decade war in Afghanistan. Lakanwal served in the elite NDS-03 counterterrorism unit in Afghanistan, one of at least five paramilitary "Zero Units" that worked with the CIA, according to AfghanEvac, a nonprofit organization run by American veterans.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed Lakanwal had worked with the intelligence agency but did not specify the unit. Lakanwal had applied for asylum in December 2024 and later got approval under the Trump administration in April of this year.

Authorities said Lakanwal allegedly traveled from Washington state, where he lived with his wife and five children, to the District of Columbia to carry out the attack. He was shot by a National Guard member responding to the ambush and is currently in custody with non-life-threatening injuries.

Presidential Response

In a lengthy social media post late on Thanksgiving, President Trump announced a series of sweeping immigration measures in response to the shooting. "I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden's Autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The president also pledged to end all federal benefits and subsidies for non-citizens, "denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic security," and deport any foreign national deemed "non-compatible with Western Civilization."

"Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation," Trump added.

The White House rapid response social media account described the post as "one of the most important messages ever released by President Trump."

In remarks to reporters following a video call with service members on Thanksgiving, Trump described the shooting as a terrorist attack and called migrants admitted during the Biden administration "the single greatest national security threat facing our nation."

When asked by a reporter whether he blamed all Afghans for the shooting, Trump said: "No, but we've had a lot of problems with Afghans."

Administrative Actions

The Trump administration moved quickly to implement new restrictions following the attack. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow announced the agency would pursue "a full-scale, rigorous reexamination" of every green card holder from countries "of concern."

A spokesperson suggested the countries "of concern" include the 19 mentioned in Trump's June executive order: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

The Department of Homeland Security announced it had immediately suspended processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols. Officials also said they would review all pending asylum cases approved under the Biden administration.

Over 190,000 Afghans were resettled into the U.S. after the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, according to State Department data. Trump requested an additional 500 National Guard troops for the Washington, D.C. area following the attack.

Legal Questions and Expert Analysis

The specifics of Trump's proposed policies remain unclear, and legal experts have raised questions about implementation and constitutionality.

"They're very vague, and it's hard to see exactly how they would translate into national policy," John Skrentny, sociology professor at University of California, San Diego, told Straight Arrow News. "So trying to assess the legality of these moves is not the easiest thing in the world, because terms such as third world, that's not a legal term, and it's hard to know who's in and who's out of that."

Peter Skerry, professor of political science at Boston College, acknowledged public concern over the attack but noted "as is his habit, he tends to overdramatize and make the argument too strong and in much too broad in general terms."

"One of the problems with foreseeing the legal outcomes of these initiatives, should they come to pass, is the United States has two almost opposed legal doctrines that govern immigration," Skrentny explained. "One of them is called the plenary power, and that's the idea that in the case of immigration, the executive branch and Congress can pretty much do what they want."

The other legal doctrine involves the 14th Amendment, which guarantees due process of law to all persons, not just citizens.

United Nations agencies criticized the proposed measures on Friday. "They are entitled to protection under international law, and that should be given due process," U.N. human rights office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told reporters in Geneva.

Economic and Social Considerations

Trump's threat to halt immigration would carry significant economic implications. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, America's foreign-born workers account for nearly 31 million jobs.

"There will be negative impacts if we curtail immigration," Skerry said. "There already are negative impacts. The president himself has acknowledged that at various points."

The president's social media post claimed that "most" foreign-born U.S. residents "are on welfare, from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels." However, multiple academic studies contradict this assertion.

The perception that immigration breeds crime "continues to falter under the weight of the evidence," according to a review of academic literature last year in the Annual Review of Criminology. "With few exceptions, studies conducted at both the aggregate and individual levels demonstrate that high concentrations of immigrants are not associated with increased levels of crime and delinquency across neighborhoods and cities in the United States," the review stated.

A study by economists initially released in 2023 found immigrants are 60% less likely to be incarcerated than people born in the U.S.

Lakanwal currently faces at least three counts of assault with intent to kill and criminal possession of a weapon. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced that murder charges would be filed, and Attorney General Pam Bondi stated prosecutors would seek the death penalty.

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