The Trump administration has halted all asylum claim decisions after the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington DC. This pause will remain until all aliens can be vetted and screened thoroughly, according to USCIS director Joseph Edlow.

• All asylum claim decisions have been halted following a shooting that left one soldier dead and another in critical condition, perpetrated by an Afghan national.
• The USCIS – a branch of the Department of Homeland Security – has been instructed not to approve, deny, or close asylum applications for all nationalities.
• The shooting suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, came to the US in 2021 under a program for Afghans who worked with US forces. He reportedly applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted it after Trump returned to office.

Former US President Donald Trump has halted all asylum decisions until enhanced security procedures for vetting are fully implemented, and reversed all executive orders signed by his predecessor, Joe Biden. This action casts uncertainty over the status of Kenyans in the US and Kenya's designation as a Major Non-NATO ally.

• As of 2022, over 7,500 asylum applications from Kenyans were reported.
• The USCIS, overseen by Director Joseph Edlow, confirmed the asylum halt due to national security concerns.
• By November 2024, approximately 1,282 Kenyan nationals were facing deportation from the US.
• President Biden had designated Kenya as a Major Non-NATO ally in June last year, making it the first sub-Saharan nation with this status, which is now under review.

Cuts in foreign aid, initiated by then U.S. President Donald Trump and mirrored by the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands, threaten to exacerbate terror risks in Kenya by impacting over one million refugees. This reduction in aid is creating conditions ripe for extremist recruitment, prompting the Kenyan government to deploy specialized security units.

• Over 80 percent of working-age refugees in Kakuma are unemployed, contributing to vulnerability to recruitment by groups like Al-Shabaab.
• A Refugee Group report indicates a 40 percent rise in extremist recruitment among Kenya’s refugee population since aid cuts began in August.
• Aid cuts in neighboring Somalia have reduced food aid recipients from 1.1 million to 350,000 since August, increasing regional instability.
• The Kenyan government has officially chartered Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps into municipalities, ending their temporary status after over three decades.
• Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen stated this move opens doors for major infrastructure upgrades benefiting both refugees and residents.