Community members prepare a portrait of West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom for a vigil in her honor at the town hall in Webster Springs, West Virginia, on November 28, 2025.
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As law enforcement officials investigate the shooting of National Guard members in Washington, D.C., US immigration policy is rapidly changing.
The Trump administration has abruptly halted the processing of any immigration requests from Afghan citizens, and the president has vowed to further tighten his crackdown on immigration.
Here’s what we know.
National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom remembered
Sarah Beckstrom, 20, of Summersville, West Virginia, joins the service in 2023. Beckstrom’s father, Gary, called her his “baby” and said she was “on her way to glory.” facebook post On Thursday.
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey on Friday called on residents to observe a moment of silence for the two victims of the shooting, as both were deployed as part of that state’s National Guard.
Morrisey said in a statement Friday that Beckstrom made the “ultimate sacrifice” in service of his state and nation. He said both Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, stepped up and volunteered for the mission in D.C.
Morrissey also said Wolfe’s condition remained “very serious.”
“These two heroes from West Virginia were serving our country and protecting our nation’s capital when they were maliciously attacked,” Morrisey said. “His courage and commitment to duty represent the best of our state.”
An American flag and a small bouquet of pink flowers are placed in a planter near the bus stop.
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Andrew Leyden/Getty Images
The suspect is now charged with murder in the first degree
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who allegedly shot National Guard members is now facing first-degree murder charges.
Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said during a Interview with Fox News Said Friday that the charges against Lakanwal have been upgraded to first-degree murder and that “there are more charges to come.”
Lakanwal, who was 5 years old when the war in Afghanistan began, came to the US in 2021 after US forces withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban toppled its government. Lakhanwal had worked with an elite counterterrorism unit run by the CIA, according to AfghanVac, a non-profit run by American veterans and others who served in Afghanistan. The organization has said that such special units were used to carry out extremely violent covert operations.
According to CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Lacanval was able to resettle in the US with his family due to work done on behalf of US intelligence.
Authorities are searching for leads in the US and abroad as no definite motive for the shootings has yet been determined.
Trump administration halting all asylum decisions
The administration is dramatically tightening its controversial immigration policies.
President Trump posted on Truth Social that he would “permanently halt immigration from all third world countries in order for the American system to fully recover.”
Joseph Edlow, Director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Posted on xThat the agency has “paused all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is screened and screened to the maximum extent possible.”
“The safety of the American people always comes first,” Edlow wrote.
NPR’s Alana Wise, Kat Lonsdorf, Julianna Kim and Brian Mann contributed to this report.
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