US President Donald Trump has said his administration will suspend all asylum requests for an indefinite period of time. The decision comes after he announced that he would impose a ban on asylum seekers from 19 third-world countries following the Washington, DC, shootout.
The decision was taken after an immigrant, an ex-CIA operative who had worked in Afghanistan, killed one National Guard member and injured another just a few streets away from the White House. Trump said, “We don’t want those people. You know why we don’t want them? Because many have been no good, and they shouldn’t be in our country.”
He said he has ended the asylum request without a time limit. The shootout suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is believed to have entered the country in 2021 after the Taliban takeover of Kabul. He is facing a first-degree murder charge in connection with the shooting, though investigators have not yet been able to find out the exact motive behind the shootout.
Meanwhile, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Sunday that investigators believe the suspect was radicalised after arriving in the US. Noem said, “I believe he was radicalised after entering the country,” adding that authorities are seeking more information from his associates and relatives.”
The Republican politicians accused the Biden administration of granting access to such individuals, though the latest investigations believe Lakanwal was granted asylum under the Trump administration. The suspect was reportedly granted asylum in April 2025. He was a former member of a CIA-backed Afghan “partner force” unit fighting the Taliban.
