By Al Ahed Staff, Agencies
US President Donald Trump signaled on Sunday that his administration’s newly imposed suspension of asylum processing could remain in effect for an extended period, tying the policy directly to last week’s fatal shooting near the White House involving an Afghan national.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from his Thanksgiving holiday in Florida, Trump made clear that the asylum pause would not be lifted soon. “I think a long time,” he said, adding, when pressed for specifics: “We have enough problems. We don’t want those people.”
Asked whether the freeze could remain for one or two years, he responded: “No time limit, but it could be a long time.”
Trump indicated that the suspension would predominantly affect migrants from countries he described as “very crime-ridden” and “not friendly,” asserting that several nations were “out of control.”
The administration announced the sweeping halt after the November 26 shooting in Washington that killed 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and left a security guard in critical condition. The suspect, identified as an Afghan national named Lakanwal, arrived in the United States in 2021 during the evacuation from Afghanistan.
US media outlets reported that Lakanwal had previously worked with multiple US government agencies, including the CIA. He was granted asylum in April 2025 under the Trump administration.
The White House has framed the suspension as a security measure, though rights groups say it amounts to a de facto shutdown of the asylum system for an undefined period. Trump’s remarks suggest the freeze could become one of the administration’s most enduring immigration restrictions, with no clear timeline for reversal.
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