President Donald Trump indicated that his administration’s pause on processing asylum applications—implemented after the fatal shooting of National Guard members in Washington, D.C., by an Afghan migrant—has no fixed end date and could remain in effect “for a long time.”
He was speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One following he death of West Virginia National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, killed in an ambush-style attack on Thanksgiving Eve.
The suspect in the shooting, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is an Afghan asylee who entered the United States in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, the refugee program established during President Joe Biden’s administration following a chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
AMERICA FIRST 🇺🇸 https://t.co/F6ipDboar1
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) December 1, 2025
“We don’t want those people. We have enough problems,” Trump said when asked about the pause.
“Many of them are no good, and they shouldn’t be in our country.”
According to Afghan refugee advocacy group AfghanEvac, the people who were brought to the United States had served the Afghan government during the war.
The United States resettled more than 85,000 Afghans after the Taliban takeover in 2021.
The Trump Administration has been critical of the program, saying the people brought were never properly vetted.
Tens of thousands of unvetted Afghan aliens have hurt and terrorized Americans after the Biden administration flooded our communities with criminals, terrorists, and other threats.
These are just a few of the criminals who have rewarded American generosity with violence:
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) November 29, 2025
Afghanistan is among countries whose nationals became subject to new visa restrictions introduced by the Trump administration earlier this year.
In several statements following the shooting, Trump has vowed to “permanently pause” immigration from what he has called “Third World” nations.
His administration has also launched a sweeping review of green card holders from “all countries of concern.”
Our statement regarding today’s horrific attack in Washington, DC. pic.twitter.com/Mji2hGr2Ll
— #AfghanEvac (@afghanevac) November 27, 2025
Clarifying his remarks to reporters, Trump said he was referring to “people from different countries that are not friendly to us and countries that are out of control themselves.”
He criticized the countries for their ineffective governance.
“I don’t think they are all ‘Third World,’” he added, “but in many cases they are. They are not good countries. They are crime-ridden countries. They’re countries that don’t do a good job.”
Ali Imran is a Washington-based journalist, who has worked for leading world news organizations as correspondent, expert and in editorial positions. He is a published author and poet.
