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By Joshua Scheer
The Shooting, the Panic — and a New Asylum Crackdown
A deadly shooting near the White House, in which one member of the United States National Guard was killed and another critically wounded, has become the pretext for a sweeping, rapid-turnaround crackdown on asylum seekers by the Trump administration. The suspect, an Afghan national admitted under resettlement programs, has triggered a political reaction that threatens due process, refugee protections and the lives of thousands of immigrants awaiting asylum decisions.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency has halted all asylum-case decisions “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.” The freeze comes after statements from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Trump blaming the killing on “lax migration policies” and suggesting that many Afghan and other asylum-seeking immigrants represent a threat.
In essence: one violent act — whether horrific or isolated — is being used to justify broad draconian changes to immigration and refugee policy, effectively punishing entire communities for the deeds of one.
Noem and Trump’s Response: From Incident to Immigration Crackdown
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Noem claimed that the suspect was “radicalized in the U.S.,” implying a failure of vetting under prior administration standards. Meanwhile, Trump announced what he described as a “permanent pause” on migration from “Third World countries,” signaling zero tolerance for certain immigrant communities.
USCIS swiftly followed, suspending asylum adjudications, halting visa issuance for Afghans, and pledging a full reexamination of existing greencard and parole cases from what the administration calls “countries of concern.” The stated rationale: national security. Yet the speed and breadth of the response strongly suggest this was more than just damage control — it looks premeditated, aligning with long-standing hard-line immigration goals.
Advocates say this conflation of criminal violence with asylum status plays into fear and xenophobia, eroding rights & protections that refugees and asylum seekers — many of whom aided U.S. efforts abroad — are entitled to under both U.S. and international law.
Critics Warn of Scapegoating Immigrant Communities, Undermining Due Process
Immigrant-rights organizations and civil-liberties defenders respond with alarm. Freezing asylum decisions en masse punishes thousands of people already languishing in limbo — many of whom fled war, persecution or instability. Such policies risk turning the U.S. refugee system into a symbolic enforcement tool rather than a humanitarian safe harbor.
Some critics argue that the administration is using the shooting to advance a broader anti-immigrant agenda. As one refugee-advocacy group put it to NBC Chicago: “They are using a single violent individual as cover for a policy they have long planned, turning their own intelligence failures into an excuse to punish an entire community.”
Others point out that despite the administration’s claims, immigrant-vetting processes are already rigorous — and no vetting system, no matter how thorough, can predict every act of violence. The reality: scapegoating asylum seekers undermines public safety, fuels Islamophobia, and dehumanizes people seeking refuge.
The Stakes: What’s at Risk for Immigrants, Asylum-Seekers, and Social Justice
The current plan by Trump is to eliminate due process and individual rights by treating people as a collective threat instead of evaluating their circumstances. Each claim, each person, deserves assessment — not collective punishment. Obviously, it doesn’t ignore individual circumstances when it comes to the actions of one deranged individual, yet it uses that exception to justify broad, harmful policies.
It would also undermine our identity as a refugee-protection state. Many of the programs created to aid people who helped U.S. forces abroad are now at risk of being dismantled — weakening both our moral obligations and our international commitments. Certainly, our status as a refuge for the persecuted has been chipped away over many years, and this latest shift pushes America even further toward an isolationist posture. I would add here Hillary Clinton’s infamous 2014 comment — “send them back” — referring to migrant children, to underscore that Trump is not alone; this has been the political tilt in the U.S. for years.
Last, as we continue down this road, we further cultivate a social climate of fear, deepening alienation within immigrant communities — communities that, as I have written before, contribute profoundly to America’s success.
I would end with this running theme: policies like this set a dangerous precedent for future crackdowns. Once the door is open to sweeping action based on a single case, future abuses become easier — and will inevitably reach far broader immigrant populations.
And hopefully, we remember this quote from Martin Niemöller:
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.
What Progressive and Human-Rights Advocates Need Demand
These are hopeful yet uninspiring goals, given our current two-party system and its inability to make real change. The most important of them is resisting fear-driven narratives and fostering empathy and solidarity. Yet in the world we live in — one that worships under the “Necropolitic God,” where death and destruction reign supreme — I’d like to say I’m holding my breath, but I’m not. We can no longer sit idly by while those in power continue down this pathway to our collective demise. Climate change may eventually take most of us, but this may get us there even faster.
On the two-party system: as I write this, Sen. Mark Kelly was reported to have said on CNN, “Going after a large group of people, most of whom I think are just trying to live their lives, raise their families, and go to work every day, the U.S. government harassing them years later does not make a lot of sense to me.”
Kelly himself, under attack by this president, couldn’t come up with stronger words than that? This is the opposition? This is not acceptable.
Conclusion: One Attack Shouldn’t Derail a Refugee System — But It’s Happening
A tragic shooting is now being used as the catalyst for sweeping changes to U.S. asylum policy.
As we’ve reported over the last few days, the administration’s rhetoric is casting entire immigrant populations as threats. With mass suspensions of asylum claims already underway, this moment poses a grave risk to the rights, dignity and safety of refugees and asylum-seekers.
Again, none of this is new. This is what fascistic movements have long done: assign blame, stoke fear and push their agenda no matter the cost — sacrificing vulnerable people on the altar of fear, suspicion, and political whim. It is unacceptable behavior, especially from a country whose most iconic symbol is a statue that declares, “Give me your tired, your poor…” floating in the hometown of our current president.
The time is now for progressives, human-rights defenders and all advocates for justice to push back—loudly, clearly and with empathy for those at risk. We need to make our voices heard.
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