After 29-year-old suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal was identified as an Afghan national yesterday, the US suspended all immigration requests from Afghans.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services said the decision was made pending a review of “security and vetting protocols”.
Reacting from Mar-a-Lago, US President Donald Trump labelled the attack an “act of terror”, adding that he would take steps to remove foreigners “from any country who does not belong here”.
Lakanwal is believed to have arrived in the US in September 2021 alongside tens of thousands of others who fled Afghanistan.
They were welcomed to the US under Joe Biden’s programme, which followed the Taliban’s capture of the country after the chaotic withdrawal of US forces.
But, Trump said following the shooting that the US “must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden”.
We’ve more detail on Trump’s response to the attack in our news story
