Category: ESTA News

The Afghan immigrant suspected in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers near the White House in Washington, D.C., was radicalized after arriving in the United States, U.S. authorities said, while his motive remains unclear.

“We are still reviewing all the information, and we will allow the FBI and the Justice Department to release any new information,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Nome said in an NBC interview. “However, we will say that we believe he was radicalized after he came to this country.”

She added, “We believe that it came through his connections in his community and in the state, and we will continue to talk to those who interacted with him, as well as members of his family.”

The suspect in this case, Ramanullah Lakanwal (29), is a former local soldier who cooperated with US intelligence during the US war in Afghanistan. He escaped to the US in 2021 when US troops withdrew from Afghanistan and has been living with his family in Washington state in the northwestern US.

Minister Nom’s remarks are interpreted as an argument that Lakanwal’s political leanings turned to extremism after entering the US due to the strong Democratic political environment in Washington state and the civic groups that helped him settle in, which led to this incident. Minister Nom also blamed the former Joe Biden administration for the fact that Lakanwal’s asylum application was approved in April of this year, after the second Trump administration took office.

“We have to remember that when they abandoned Afghanistan, the Biden administration brought people onto planes and into the US without background checks,” he said.

“Background checks are done when the person in question enters the country. And Joe Biden did not vet them at all.”

He also emphasized, “His asylum application was initiated under the Biden administration, and it was processed based on information provided by Biden when he was president,” and “This is the Biden administration’s responsibility.”

Minister Nom’s position largely aligns with President Donald Trump’s view that the Biden administration is responsible for and responsible for this incident.

President Trump also wrote on his social media platform, TruthSocial, that “Crooked Joe Biden, (Biden Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro) Mayorkas, and ‘Border Czar’ Kamala Harris have truly ruined our country by allowing anyone and everyone to come in with absolutely no vetting or verification.

“Minister Nom also said, “One thing no one has mentioned yet is that Biden has left us with 1.5 million asylum applications that are not being processed. They must be vetted according to our standards in place under President Trump. If they are not guaranteed to be in our country, they will be immediately deported.”

Heavy snowfall, particularly across the Midwest, during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend on the 29th led to the cancellation of over 1,000 passenger flights and the delay of thousands more.

According to FlightAware, a flight tracking website, as of 1:30 p.m. ET, a total of 1,830 flights departing or arriving in the United States had been canceled. A total of 3,810 flights were delayed, and the number of cancellations and delays is expected to increase further this afternoon.

About half of the canceled flights in the United States were concentrated at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, the largest airport in the Midwest. Ground delays were ordered at O’Hare International Airport this morning due to snow and ice, delaying flights to the airport by an average of five hours, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

A winter storm with heavy snow is hitting the Midwest, including Chicago, causing disruption to air traffic throughout the region. The Thanksgiving holiday is a time when air travel demand surges as Americans travel to visit family and friends or go on vacation. Some areas in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Michigan are forecast to see up to 15 to 35 centimeters of snow by the morning of the 30th.

The National Weather Service’s Chicago office warned that snowfall is expected to increase through the evening and urged drivers to drive with caution. Meanwhile, aircraft manufacturer Airbus issued a large-scale recall of its flagship A320 family of passenger aircraft the previous day, raising concerns about flight cancellations and delays around the world. However, swift software upgrades have prevented any major disruptions to operations.

Major foreign media outlets, including AFP and dpa, reported on the 29th that, thanks to the swift intervention of Airbus and airlines, no major disruptions have been reported at airports or airlines worldwide.

The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Department in Virginia has confiscated over 110 illegal firearms over the past three years.

The county recently announced that 112 illegal firearms were seized through Operation Press Check, a three-year-old operation targeting illegal gun owners.

According to the department, 24 guns were seized in 2023, 55 in 2024, and 57 as of early November this year. Among them were guns equipped with MCD devices, which allow automatic fire and are used in mass shootings.

Police pledged to further strengthen their crackdown on illegal gun ownership next year, stating that there is no safe place to possess an illegal gun in Fairfax County.

The county sheriff stated that they will prioritize preventing gun crime by identifying repeat offenders, recovering illegal firearms, and strengthening prosecutions for those who possess them.

There are concerns that masked immigration agents in New Jersey have been raiding homes, knocking on doors without presenting a warrant, and demanding that people open their doors.

Doorbell video released by Congressman Herb Conaway (D-NJ 3rd District) on the 17th shows masked immigration agents demanding to open the door of a home in Burlington Township without identifying themselves.

According to the video, the agents are wearing jackets that say “POLICE,” but their agency is not specified. When a woman inside the home refused to answer the door and asked the agents who they were and why they were wearing masks, the agents did not answer properly and instead said, “We’re looking for a man.” The woman inside the house said, “I don’t know the man I’m looking for and there’s no one else home,” but the knocking grew louder. The woman asked if they had a warrant and demanded to see it, but the agents refused.

After a six-minute altercation, the agents finally left the house. Rep. Conaway strongly condemned the video, saying, “The people in this video violated the procedures they are supposed to follow as federal immigration agents.”

Immigrant rights advocacy groups called the video “appalling” and emphasized, “Residents have the right to ask for a warrant before opening a door. This is a clear example of why everyone, regardless of immigration status, should know their constitutional rights.”

Meanwhile, immigration raids targeting businesses continue in New Jersey.

According to ABC News and other sources, agents raided a seafood distributor in Newark on the morning of the 19th and detained 13 people. The same business was also targeted in an immigration raid in January.

The New Jersey Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office said in a statement that “as part of a criminal investigation, we executed a search warrant on the 19th and arrested 13 undocumented immigrants working at the Ocean Seafood Depot in Newark.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published a draft rule in the Federal Register that would significantly expand the collection of biometric data across the immigration process.

The measure is expected to be controversial, as it would expand the scope of biometric data collection to include not only immigrants but also U.S. citizens and minors, and would allow for the collection of various forms of biometric data, including not only facial photographs and fingerprints but also DNA, voice, iris, and palm print patterns.

The proposed rule explicitly requires biometric data from all applicants for immigration benefits or their related individuals, regardless of age. Accordingly, this would apply not only to foreign nationals but also to U.S. citizens, such as sponsors and co-petitioners.

Under the new definition, biometric information includes fingerprints, facial and iris images, palmprint scans, voice, signature, and DNA. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) described this as a necessary measure for identity verification, fraud prevention, combating child trafficking, and strengthening national security. However, the new rule has raised questions about privacy and proportionality, as it includes children under 14 and citizens as subjects of the collection.

Immigration advocacy groups pointed out that, if implemented, this rule would allow Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to collect biometric information from children for the first time.

The draft also includes a “continuous identity monitoring” provision, requiring immigrants to periodically resubmit biometric information until they become citizens. DHS would also have the authority to request or accept DNA samples if necessary.

This measure could impose biometric information obligations not only on foreign nationals but also on business associates such as employers and signatories, leading immigration attorneys to worry about visa processing delays and increased administrative costs.

Experts analyzed that this regulation could be a signal for “the transition of the entire US immigration administration to a system of continuous surveillance.”

The regulation has not yet been finalized, and public comments will be accepted until January 2, 2026. A similar policy was already pursued during the first term of former President Donald Trump.

At the time, immigration advocacy groups and civic groups strongly opposed the measure, calling it a “measure to create a surveillance state.” After receiving widespread opposition, the Biden administration withdrew it.

New York State has decided to put on hold its mandatory gas range ban policy for new buildings, which was set to take effect about a month ago, pending a court ruling.

The state government announced on the 12th that it has reached an agreement with construction unions and the Propane Gas Association, which had filed a lawsuit opposing the gas ban, to postpone the ban until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit makes a final ruling.

New York State enacted the All-Electric Buildings Act in 2023, which requires all heating and cooking appliances in new buildings to be electric. Accordingly, the plan was to completely ban the use of gas appliances, such as gas heating and gas ranges, in new buildings seven stories or less starting in January 2026 and expand the ban to all new buildings in the state starting in 2029. However, construction unions and the Propane Gas Association have strongly opposed the New York state government’s policy and have filed a lawsuit.

The plaintiffs claim that “New York state law violates federal regulations on gas appliance regulation.”

Meanwhile, two out of three consumers nationwide are opposed to the phase-out of gas ranges. According to an online survey of 2,090 voters nationwide conducted by the Harvard University CAPS Harris Poll, 69% of all respondents expressed opposition to the federal government’s attempt to phase out or eliminate gas ranges.

55% of Democratic voters, 83% of Republican voters, and 71% of independents also opposed the phase-out of gas ranges. Only 31% of respondents said gas ranges should be phased out.

The federal government shutdown, now in its 40th day, has sparked chaos surrounding a food assistance program for 42 million low-income families. The conflict stems from conflicting rulings by federal district courts and the Supreme Court over the November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments, with Democratic governors in their states attempting to distribute the funds normally clashing with the federal government’s refusal to transfer funds to those states.

The conflict began with the Department of Agriculture’s announcement last month that the shutdown had depleted its budget and prevented the November SNAP payments from being distributed. This prompted lawsuits from 25 Democratic-controlled states and civic groups. The district court ruled in their favor. It ordered them to use the USDA’s emergency fund, which currently has $4.65 billion, as well as additional funds raised from customs revenues, to fully implement SNAP as scheduled.

The federal government appealed, arguing that only about 65% of the estimated $9 billion needed for November could be implemented. When the appeals court failed to reach a decision, the federal government took the case to the Supreme Court, which on the 7th suspended the full payment order.

The conflicting decisions between the district court and the Supreme Court created considerable confusion. Some of the 25 states followed the district court’s order to fully fund November’s SNAP accounts (aka “food stamps”). These states used the funds to make purchases at grocery stores and other locations with electronic payment systems (EBT), and after the USDA reviewed each state’s SNAP file, the Treasury Department deposited the funds into the state’s account. However, the federal government refused to deposit (repay) the subsidy to the state government, calling it an “unauthorized payment.” In the case of Wisconsin, a month’s worth of subsidy has already been charged to 700,000 EBT users, amounting to $100 million, the Associated Press and local media reported on the 9^th

.The Department of Agriculture notified SNAP officials in each state the day before that “all actions taken to issue the entire SNAP benefit for November must be immediately canceled.”

In other words, in the flow of “Treasury → State → Beneficiary → Retailer,” the state government charged the beneficiary’s EBT, and some beneficiaries had already purchased groceries and other items at retailers, but the Treasury said it could not pay the state government.

These 25 states have already expressed concern that a federal refusal to reimburse SNAP recipients for payments made last week would result in “catastrophic operational disruption.”

This could lead to retailers refusing to accept SNAP cards, or states facing massive lawsuits. The ability to recover already-purchased SNAP benefits is also in question. Even as the chaos caused by the prolonged shutdown intensifies, Congress remains at a loss, with Republicans insisting on immediately passing a temporary budget bill to restart the government and Democrats insisting they cannot comply unless the “Obamacare subsidy” is extended for a year.

The federal government shutdown, which halts some functions, reached a new record of 36 days on the 5th. The shutdown, which began on the 1st of last month due to disagreements between Republicans and Democrats over extending Obamacare subsidies and the failure to pass a stopgap budget bill, is prolonging the situation and causing increasing inconvenience to citizens.

On the 4th, the Senate held its 14th vote on the Republican stopgap budget bill, but it was again defeated by a vote of 54 to 44. With the Democrats maintaining their opposition, the Republicans again failed to secure the 60 votes needed to pass the bill. Democrats insist that the Republicans must agree to extend Obamacare subsidies before passing a stopgap budget bill, but Republicans insist that the government be brought back to normal operation before discussing the issue.

With President Trump, the Republicans, and the Democrats unable to find common ground, the shutdown reached its 36th day on the 5th, setting a record for the longest shutdown on record. With the shutdown resuming in the first year of the Trump administration’s second term, hundreds of thousands of federal workers are working without pay or being forced to furlough.

Air transportation is also facing inevitable disruptions. The SNAP (Food Stamps) program, which serves 42 million vulnerable people, is also in danger due to depleted funds.

A court ordered the Trump administration to continue operating the program using federal emergency funds, but the current emergency fund is only half of the $9 billion it cost in November.

The general election to elect the next New Jersey governor is just four days away. Democratic candidate Mikey Sherrill (53) and Republican candidate Jack Citarelli (63), who have been locked in a tight race for the past several months, are both pledging to “make New Jersey a better place to live,” but their approaches to achieving this differ significantly.

■Taxes: While both candidates advocate tax cuts, their specifics differ significantly. Citarelli proposes implementing a cap on property taxes, capping them at a certain percentage of a home’s assessed value. He also pledged to reduce corporate taxes by 1% annually over five years and provide a state income tax deduction for student loan interest. In response, Sherrill is pledging to reduce the tax burden by expanding benefits like the childcare tax credit and the earned income tax credit. Furthermore, Sherrill is committed to cracking down on tax avoidance by corporations and the ultra-high-income class.

■Housing: This is an area where the two candidates differ significantly. Candidate Cheryl supports providing tax breaks to builders and streamlining permitting procedures to increase housing supply. Candidate Ciattarelli, on the other hand, opposes requiring each town government to supply low-income apartments, arguing that this would place an excessive burden on local taxpayers.

■Education=Candidate Ciattarelli has pledged to provide $8,000 in annual vouchers to students enrolled in private schools and expanding charter schools. He also intends to change the way the state calculates the funding it provides to local school districts. In contrast, candidate Sherrill’s key pledges include expanding free school meals, expanding after-school programs, and improving access to mental health services for students.

■Energy Costs=To address the skyrocketing electricity costs in New Jersey, candidate Sherrill has pledged to declare a state of emergency on her first day in office and freeze utility rates. Ciattarelli, on the other hand, aims to block Democratic-led clean energy initiatives while diversifying energy sources to include natural gas and nuclear power to lower costs.

■Immigration=Ciatarelli has stated that if elected governor, he would repeal the “Immigrant Protection Directive,” which restricts local police cooperation with immigration authorities. In contrast, Democratic candidate Sherrill has pledged to ban immigration enforcement agents in New Jersey from wearing masks.

■Government Reform = Candidate Sherrill announced a pledge to implement the “New Jersey Report Card,” which would allow residents to check government spending, subsidy payments, and major projects to enhance transparency in state government.

In response, Candidate Ciattarelli pledged to create a government efficiency office, like the Donald Trump administration, to root out wasteful state budgets. Candidate Ciattarelli also advocates for political reform, including limiting state legislative terms to eight years.

The Senate passed a resolution on the 30th to halt President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” (tariffs levied differently on each country) on most countries around the world.

The Senate voted on the “Joint Resolution to End the National Emergency Declared for the Imposition of Global Tariffs” in a plenary session that day, with a vote of 51 to 47.

Republican co-sponsors of the resolution, including Senator Rand Paul (KY), former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY), Senator Susan Collins (MA), and Senator Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), joined their Democratic counterparts in voting in favor.

This resolution is identical to the one that failed on April 30th. That vote was tied at 49-49, and Vice President J.D. Vance, who also serves as President of the Senate, cast the deciding vote against it. This week, while President Trump was on a tour of Asia, including South Korea, the Senate passed two more resolutions opposing Trump’s tariff policies. However, the likelihood of these resolutions passing the Republican-controlled House of Representatives is slim.