US halts all asylum claim decisions in wake of National Guard shooting

The directive comes hours after Donald Trump said the US will pause migration from "third-world countries".

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Joseph Edlow said the pause would be in place "until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible".

It came hours after US President Donald Trump pledged to "permanently pause migration" from all "third world countries".

The flurry of immigration decisions come in the wake of Wednesday's shooting, which left one soldier dead and another in a critical condition, and which officials have accused an Afghan national for perpetrating.

While the first of these specifically targeted Afghans seeking to enter the US, other decisions have been far more wide-reaching.