U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday made clear his administration plans to maintain a pause on asylum decisions for “a long time” following last week’s alleged shooting of two National Guardsmen near the White House by an Afghan national.
Speaking with media on Air Force One, Trump said he had “no time limit” for the restriction, which applies to 19 countries already facing U.S. travel restrictions. “We don’t want those people,” he said. “You know why we don’t want them? Because many have been no good, and they shouldn’t be in our country,” he added.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, was arrested and charged with first degree murder in connection with the Nov. 26 shooting in Washington that left 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom dead and another guardsman critically wounded. American media has reported that Lakanwal was part of a CIA-backed “partner force” fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, and entered the United States as part of a resettlement program in 2021. He was granted asylum in April 2025, with officials blaming “lax vetting” by the Joe Biden administration.
Amidst Trump’s warning, Afghan refugees in Pakistan awaiting resettlement in the U.S. have urged the Trump administration to resume the program. “We, the Afghan allies and partners of the United States with completed P1/P2 cases, express our deep concern and urgent plea for assistance. Our cases were fully processed, and we were awaiting our flight dates when, on Jan. 20, 2025, the program was suspended without explanation,” read a statement issued by them.
“For more than three years, we have been living in Pakistan under extreme hardship and constant fear,” they said, condemning the attack in Washington. “This was the act of a single individual, and it must never be used to collectively punish thousands of loyal Afghan allies who served the United States honorably and at great personal risk. Individual crime is not a reflection of an entire group, and we respectfully ask that this principle of justice be upheld,” they emphasized.
The statement notes that deportations of Afghan refugees from Pakistan have ramped up, lamenting that “even official letters from the U.S. Embassy” are no guarantee of protection. “If we are forced back to Afghanistan, we will be immediately identified and killed by the Taliban for our service to the United States,” they claim.
“We urgently request that the United States uphold its commitments, protect its allies, and resume the evacuation process before more innocent lives are lost,” they say. “We are not criminals. We are the allies who stood with America. Now, we ask America to stand with us,” they added.