WASHINGTON >> The United States on Friday paused all asylum decisions and stopped issuing visas to people from Afghanistan as President Donald Trump launched a major review of the country’s immigration system after the shooting of two National Guard members.

Joseph Edlow, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said in a statement that his agency had “halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”

Trump cut the number of asylum claims dramatically by moving to seal the southern border when he took office. Friday’s decision affects people who already are in the United States and believe they would face persecution if they returned to their home country.

The State Department also announced Friday

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