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U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that his administration plans to halt asylum applications “for a long time” following a deadly shooting near the White House carried out by an Afghan national.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said, “I think a long time. We have enough problems. We don’t want those people,” when asked how long the suspension would last.
Pressed on whether it could last one or two years, he said there was “no time limit,” but added it could still be “a long time.”
Trump said the decision is aimed at migrants from countries he described as “very crime-ridden” and “not friendly to us,” claiming some nations are “out of control themselves.”
He singled out Somalia, referring to Somali-born US Representative Ilhan Omar.
His remarks followed the identification of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national, as the suspected shooter who killed one National Guard member and wounded another on Wednesday near the White House.
US media reported that Lakanwal entered the United States in 2021 after the withdrawal from Afghanistan and had previously worked with several US government entities, including the CIA.
Washington authorities said the victims were National Guard members Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24.
Lakanwal will be charged with first-degree murder in connection with Beckstrom’s death.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she approved the deportation of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador despite a federal court order halting removals.
Speaking on NBC News’ Meet the Press, Noem said decisions on deportation timing and location “belong to me” and insisted she would continue to remove “dangerous criminals.”
Noem rejected accusations of defying the court, saying judges were issuing “radical” and “activist” rulings.
Justice Department officials previously identified Noem as the official who ignored a federal order blocking removals of Venezuelan men alleged to be members of the Tren de Aragua gang.
A US appeals court ruled in September that the Trump administration could not use the wartime-era “Alien Enemies Act” to deport individuals accused of being part of the Tren de Aragua gang.
Trump had invoked the law to accelerate removals of migrants alleged to have ties to foreign terrorist organizations.
The administration had sent detainees labeled as MS-13 or Tren de Aragua members to prisons in El Salvador.
Amid ongoing tensions with Venezuela, Trump recently announced that US naval forces conducted a strike against the Tren de Aragua gang near Venezuela’s coast.
Caracas claimed the footage shared by the U.S. was “most likely” generated with artificial intelligence.
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