Trump decides to freeze asylum applications for an extended period following the National Guard incident
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump affirmed his administration's intention to maintain the temporary suspension of asylum applications "for a long time," in a direct and decisive response to the shooting by an Afghan national that targeted two National Guard members near the White House. These remarks signal a fundamental and long-term shift in US immigration policy during the current presidential term.
Details of the decision and the timeframe
In response to reporters' questions about whether there was a specific timeframe for this exceptional measure, Trump clarified that he had not set a "time limit" for ending the suspension. The Department of Homeland Security linked this measure to an expanded list of 19 countries, whose citizens have already been subject to strict travel restrictions since last June. The president used harsh language to justify the decision, saying, "We don't want these people. You know why we don't want them? Because many of them were not good people, and they shouldn't have been in our country in the first place," emphasizing the need to protect American national security.
Background of the National Guard incident
This swift presidential action followed the tragic incident in Washington, D.C., on November 26, in which two National Guard members were shot, resulting in the death of 20-year-old Private Sarah Beckstrom and serious injuries to a fellow soldier. Authorities arrested the suspect, 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakhanwal, and charged him with first-degree murder.
Investigations indicate that the accused was previously part of a CIA-backed “partner force” in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban. He entered the United States under a resettlement program following the chaotic US military withdrawal from Kabul in 2001. Ironically, Lacanwall was granted asylum in April 2025 under the current Trump administration, yet administration officials were quick to blame his entry on what they described as “lax vetting” and the lenient policies of former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Political dimensions and international impacts
This decision reflects a strong return to the “America First” policies that characterized Trump’s approach. Following the incident, the president wrote that he planned to “permanently halt immigration from all Third World countries to allow the American system to fully recover.” This statement is reminiscent of the travel bans that sparked widespread controversy during his first term, but this time it comes within a more complex security context.
When asked about the nationalities affected, the Department of Homeland Security cited a list of 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, and Iran. This decision is expected to have broad humanitarian and legal repercussions, as it will lead to a backlog of thousands of asylum seekers' cases stranded in the US legal system. It may also spark diplomatic tensions with the countries on the list, in addition to criticism from international human rights organizations, which view the sweeping decision as a threat to human rights principles and the right to asylum.
