Donald Trump has vowed to maintain a pause on asylum decisions for a “long time” in the wake of a shocking shooting near the White House that left one National Guard member dead.
The US President made the declaration on Sunday after an Afghan national allegedly gunned down two guardsmen, killing 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom. When pressed on how long the asylum pause would last, Trump insisted he had “no time limit” in mind.
The Department of Homeland Security has linked the measure to a list of 19 countries already facing US travel restrictions. “We don’t want those people,” Trump asserted. “You know why we don’t want them? Because many have been no good, and they shouldn’t be in our country.” He added, “We’re going to get them out of here!”
Guardsman killed, another critically wounded in DC shooting
The administration issued the asylum freeze after the devastating November 26 shooting in Washington, DC. Beckstrom tragically lost her life while another guardsman remains in critical condition.
Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, has been charged with first degree murder for the attack. He had been part of a CIA-backed force fighting the Taliban before resettling in the US following the 2021 military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Trump blames Biden for “lax vetting” of Afghan shooter
Lakanwal was granted asylum in April 2025 under the Trump administration. However, officials have pointed fingers at the “lax vetting” of Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden for allowing Lakanwal into the country during the Afghan airlift.
In the shooting’s aftermath, Trump pledged to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover.” The Department of Homeland Security indicated this would impact a list of 19 nations, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran and Myanmar, which have all faced recent US travel restrictions.
Slain guard’s family invited to White House to honor her memory
On Sunday, Trump revealed he had invited specialist Sarah Beckstrom’s grieving family to the White House. The President said he spoke to the slain 20-year-old’s “devastated” parents.
“I said: ‘When you’re ready, because that’s a tough thing, come to the White House. We’re going to honor Sarah,” Trump told reporters. He extended the same invitation to critically injured staff sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, to “recover or not” at the executive mansion.
Vigils have been held across Beckstrom and Wolfe’s home state of West Virginia to remember the fallen guardsman and pray for her wounded comrade’s recovery. The senseless shooting has reignited fierce debate over the Biden-era Afghan resettlement process and future US asylum policies under an uncompromising President Trump.
