- The freeze applies to 19 countries already subject to US travel restrictions.
- 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 in asylum decisions for “a long time” after an Afghan national reportedly shot two members of the National Guard 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 measure, which the Department of Homeland Security says is attached to a list of 19 countries already facing US travel restrictions.
“We don’t want those people,” Trump continued. “You know why we don’t want them? Too many haven’t been good and they shouldn’t be in our country.”
The Trump administration issued the pause in the wake of the Nov. 26 shooting in Washington that left 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom dead and another guard critically wounded.
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 “partner force” fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, and entered the United States as part of a resettlement program following the US military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Lakanwal had been granted asylum in April 2025 under the Trump administration, but officials have blamed what they called lax vetting by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden’s administration, for his admission on American soil during the Afghan airlift.
Trump wrote after the shooting that he planned to “permanently halt migration from all third world countries to allow the American system to fully recover.”
Asked which nationalities would be affected, the Department of Homeland Security pointed out AFP to a list of 19 countries – including Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran and Myanmar – that have all been subject to travel restrictions to the US since June.
Radicalized in the USA
Authorities believe Lakanwal was not radicalized before coming to 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 was 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 think he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country,” Noem told NBC News. “We believe it was through connections in his home community and state, and we will continue to speak to those who interacted with him, who were his family members.”
Noem said officials have so far received “some participation” from people who knew Lakanwal, and warned that the United States would pursue anyone connected to the shooting.
“Anyone who has the information about this, know that we will come after you and we will bring you to justice,” Noem said.
After Wednesday’s attack, the Trump administration took steps to crack down on some legal immigration, including a freeze on the processing of all asylum applications.
Noem said Sunday that immigration officials would consider deporting people with active asylum cases if warranted.
“We will review every single person who has a pending asylum application,” she said.
