- The freeze applies to 19 countries that are already subject to travel restrictions in the United States.
- Lakanwal, former CIA-backed fighter, charged with first-degree murder.
- Officials blame the weak Joe Biden-era airlift investigation for the shooter’s entry.
US President Donald Trump said Sunday that his administration intends to maintain a pause on asylum decisions for “a long time” after an Afghan national allegedly shot two National Guard members near the White House, killing one of them.
Asked to specify how long it would last, Trump said he had “no time limit” in mind for the move, which the Department of Homeland Security said is tied to a list of 19 countries already facing travel restrictions from the United States.
“We don’t want those people,” Trump continued. “Do you know why we don’t want them? Because many of them have not been good and should not be in our country.”
The Trump administration issued the pause in the wake of the Nov. 26 shooting in Washington, which left 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom dead and another guard seriously injured.
A 29-year-old Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the incident.
Lakanwal had been part of a CIA-backed “associated force” fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan and entered the United States as part of a resettlement program following the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Lakanwal had been granted asylum in April 2025 under the Trump administration, but officials blamed what they called a lax investigation by the administration of Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, for his admission to U.S. soil during the Afghan airlift.
Trump wrote after the shooting that he planned to “permanently pause migration from all Third World countries to allow the American system to fully recover.”
When asked which nationalities would be affected, the Department of Homeland Security noted AFP to a list of 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran and Myanmar, that have faced travel restrictions to the United States since June.
Radicalized in the US
Authorities believe Lakanwal was not radicalized until after he arrived in the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and ABC’s “This Week,” Noem said authorities believe the alleged shooter was already living in Washington state when he became radicalized. Investigators are seeking more information from family members and others, Noem said.
Noem’s comments suggest that Lakanwal, who was part of a CIA-backed unit in Afghanistan, may have embraced extremism after arriving in the United States.
“We believe he’s been radicalized since he’s been here in this country,” Noem told NBC News. “We believe it was through connections in his community and home state, and we will continue to speak with those who interacted with him, who were members of his family.”
Noem said officials have received “some involvement” so far from people who knew Lakanwal and warned that the United States would pursue anyone connected to the shooting.
“Anyone who has information about this should know that we will pursue them and bring them to justice,” Noem said.
After Wednesday’s attack, the Trump administration took steps to crack down on some legal immigration, including freezing the processing of all asylum claims.
Noem said Sunday that immigration officials would consider deporting people with active asylum cases if it was justified.
“We are going to review every person who has a pending asylum application,” he said.
