US President Donald Trump said on Sunday (11/30/2025) that his government intends to keep asylum decisions on hold “for a long time,” after an Afghan national allegedly attacked two National Guard members near the White House, killing one of them.
Asked how long the pause would last, Trump said he had “no time limit” in mind for the measure, which, according to the Department of Homeland Security, is linked to a list of 19 countries imposing travel restrictions to the United States.
“We don’t want these people,” Trump said. He added: “Do you know why we don’t want them? Because many of them were not good, and they should not be in our country.”
The Trump administration froze asylum decisions in the wake of the Nov. 26 shooting in Washington that left Sarah Beckstrom, 20, dead and Andrew Wolfe, 24, seriously injured.
Authorities identified the shooter as Rahmanullah Lakkanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan, who was arrested and faces first-degree murder charges.
The suspect was granted asylum in April 2025, under the Trump administration, but according to the heads of the FBI, CIA and Department of Homeland Security, Lakanwal arrived in the country without adequate supervision due to lax asylum policies of the Joe Biden administration.
After the shooting, Trump wrote that he intended to “permanently pause immigration 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 cited a list of 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran and Burma, that have already faced travel restrictions to the United States since June.
JS (AFP, Reuters)