Trump says US asylum halt will last for 'long time'

US President Donald Trump has said that his administration plans to halt asylum for a "long time" after a deadly shooting near the White House by an Afghan national.

"I think a long time," he told reporters on Sunday aboard Air Force One on his way to Washington, DC, from Florida, where he spent the Thanksgiving holiday at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Pressed to provide a timeframe, he added: "We have enough problems. We don't want those people."

When asked whether the pause could last a year or two, Trump said: "No time limit, but it could be a long time."

Trump said the policy was directed at migrants from countries he described as "very crime ridden" and "not friendly to us," adding that some nations "are out of control themselves." He singled out Somalia, saying such people "come into our country and tell us how to run our country."

He was referring to Somalia-born, Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar.

Washington shooting

The Trump administration issued the pause in the aftermath of the shooting in Washington on November 26, which left 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom dead and another guard critically wounded.

According to US media reports, Lakanwal entered the US in 2021 following the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan and had previously worked with multiple US government entities, including the CIA.

Lakanwal had been granted asylum in April 2025, under the Trump administration, but officials have blamed what they called lax vetting by the government of Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, for his admission to US soil during the Afghan airlift.

___

Source: TRT