Trump weaponizes tragedy to justify targeting Afghan refugees – San Bernardino Sun

The recent death of West Virginia National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom and the grievous wounding of her colleague, Andrew Wolfe, in Washington, D.C., should have united this country in shared grief. It should have been a moment to honor their service and reaffirm our commitment to preventing tragedies like this from ever happening again. Instead, the Trump administration has seized on their suffering to smear entire communities and advance an agenda untethered from reality, morality or the values Americans claim to hold.

There is nothing more cynical than using the worst day of someone else’s life as political fuel. Yet that is what President Trump and senior advisers like Stephen Miller are doing. They are weaponizing this tragedy not to increase safety, but to justify bans and mass exclusions that have nothing to do with this case and everything to do with their longstanding desire to close America’s doors.

Let’s say it plainly. The man accused of this horrific act is responsible for his own choices. No community, whether Afghan, immigrant, veteran or conservative, should ever be held collectively guilty for the actions of one individual. In September, two American veterans carried out separate mass shootings in two different states only 13 hours apart. The nation grieved, but no one suggested all veterans should be treated as threats. We do not condemn every American when one of us commits an atrocity. Collective punishment is the logic of authoritarianism, not democracy.

Within hours of the Nov. 26 shooting, administration officials began using the tragedy to justify shutting down pathways for Afghans, even though Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders served beside American troops and remain allowed by law. And let us be clear: These actions do not target only Afghans. They sweep in immigrants and refugees of every background, treating human beings as political liabilities rather than individuals deserving fairness and due process. At the same time, the administration is pushing narratives meant to provoke fear and distract from its own policy failures, including the abrupt shutdown of the Enduring Welcome resettlement program and the collapse of refugee and visa processing that has left tens of thousands stranded in danger.

The irony is staggering. For more than 20 years, Afghan interpreters, soldiers and civil society leaders fought, bled and sacrificed alongside Americans. They protected our troops. They saved our lives. After the withdrawal, they showed extraordinary courage navigating Taliban checkpoints and surviving targeted threats while trusting the promise that the United States keeps its word. That promise is now being shredded for political gain.

This is not just immoral; it is strategically reckless. National security professionals across the political spectrum agree that blanket bans do not make us safer. They undermine alliances, impede intelligence gathering and send a clear message to future wartime partners: American commitments may evaporate the moment they become politically inconvenient.

And it is not what the families of Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe deserve. They deserve a country grieving with them, not exploiting their suffering to stoke fear. They deserve leadership rooted in competence, not cruelty.

Most Americans understand this. Veterans understand it viscerally. Faith communities understand it morally. Local leaders across the country understand that demonizing entire populations only fuels division and distracts from real solutions. The administration’s attempt to turn this tragedy into a broadside against Afghans and other immigrants is not just wrong; it is dangerously out of step with our values.