US President Donald Trump has announced that his administration will suspend migration from what he described as “third world countries” following the killing of a National Guard member near the White House. The president made the declaration on Thursday, a day after 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, a West Virginia National Guard soldier deployed to Washington under his anti-crime initiative, died from gunshot wounds. Another soldier, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, remains in critical condition.
Authorities say the attack was carried out by a 29-year-old Afghan national, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who allegedly ambushed the troops with a .357 revolver just a few blocks from the White House. The FBI has since launched an international terror investigation, while U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro described the shooting as a “brazen and targeted” assault. Lakanwal, who had been living in Washington State before driving across the country, now faces multiple counts of assault with intent to kill—charges that could be upgraded to first-degree murder.
Trump, who addressed the nation during a Thanksgiving video call with service members, linked the shooting to his wider immigration crackdown. “I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover,” he wrote on social media, adding that he would reverse “millions” of admissions granted under former President Joe Biden and remove “anyone who is not a net asset to the United States.” He suggested the attacker may have been “upset because he couldn’t practice crime,” while defending his deployment of troops to major Democratic-run cities.
Senior security officials said the suspect had previously served in a CIA-backed partner force in Afghanistan and was brought to the U.S. under a resettlement program for Afghans who had worked with American agencies. But advocacy group AfghanEvac countered claims of lax vetting, noting that Lakanwal underwent extensive security checks and was granted asylum in April 2025 under Trump’s own administration.
Following the attack, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered 500 additional troops to Washington, bringing the total number of National Guard personnel deployed to 2,500. The case has intensified debate over immigration, homeland security, and the U.S. exit from Afghanistan, with the Biden-era policies and Trump’s mass deportation campaign again at the center of political confrontation.
