EDITORIAL — A confluence of two issues

You have probably heard the news by now. U.S. President Donald Trump said he will suspend immigration from third-world countries.

"I will permanently pause migration from all third-world countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover," Trump said in social media.

His decision stemmed from the shooting of two members of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., by Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan immigrant with alleged mental issues. One of them has died while the other is still in the hospital.

Yes, the immigration situation in the U.S. is a nightmare right now. Many of those who aren’t supposed to get in get in. Many of those who do deserve to get in don’t. And many immigrants who are supposed to become productive members of society end up being the dregs who bring it down.

In the case of Lakanwal, he was admitted to the U.S. after working as part of a CIA-backed unit that hunted down Taliban leaders in Afghanistan. He was evacuated from Afghanistan because of his participation in U.S. operations after the Taliban returned to power. He applied for and got asylum.

But after arriving in the U.S. he struggled to fit in and settle down, probably why he developed the mental problems blamed for his attack.

Yes, the U.S. immigration system needs time to fully recover and pausing immigration from certain nations might do that. But it doesn’t seem fair to punish an entire nation or even several nations based on the actions of that one man. Lakanwal doesn’t represent the entire population of Afghan refugees and immigrants in the U.S. and his actions, however deplorable, shouldn’t be used as a basis for others to suffer.

This incident also forces attention on the plight of veterans. Strictly speaking, Lakanwal may not have been an American soldier, but he risked his life joining military operations initiated by the U.S. against the Taliban. His actions “took malignant actors off the battlefield and saved American lives,” according to the executive director of No One Left Behind, a nonprofit organization that helps resettle Afghans who worked for the U.S. during the war.

Immigration and the situation of U.S. veterans; these are two issues that still need addressing. This incident just happened to be a confluence of the two.