United States President Donald Trump has vowed to suspend migration from what he described as third world countries following the killing of a National Guard soldier in Washington.
Trump made the declaration on Thursday, a day after an Afghan national allegedly shot two National Guard soldiers in an ambush style attack near the White House, killing one and critically injuring the other.
The President confirmed that the deceased, Sarah Beckstrom, a 20 year old National Guard member from West Virginia, died from her injuries after the attack. The injured soldier, 24 year old Andrew Wolfe, was said to be fighting for his life as of Thursday.
Trump, in a post on social media, said he would permanently pause migration from third world countries to allow the United States system to recover. He also threatened to reverse millions of admissions granted under former President Joe Biden and remove anyone he described as not being a net asset to the country.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has launched an international terrorism investigation into the attack as more details emerged about the suspect, a 29 year old Afghan national identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
The United States Attorney for Washington DC, Jeanine Pirro, said the suspect had been living in Washington State before driving across the country to the capital. She described the incident as a brazen and targeted attack, adding that the gunman used a revolver to open fire on the soldiers on patrol just a few blocks from the White House.
Lakanwal was charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill. Officials said the charges would be upgraded to first degree murder following the death of one of the victims.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe disclosed that the suspect was previously part of a CIA backed partner force in Afghanistan and was later evacuated to the United States. However, a resettlement group said the suspect underwent extensive security screening and was granted asylum in April 2025 under the Trump administration.
Following the attack, the Defence Secretary announced the deployment of 500 additional troops to Washington, bringing the total number of National Guard personnel in the city to 2,500.
Trump has also deployed troops to several other Democratic controlled cities, a move that has triggered lawsuits and raised concerns over the use of military force on domestic soil.
