00:00United States President Donald Trump announced that his administration will maintain a long-term
00:06pause on asylum decisions. He said the U.S. should not admit people from certain countries
00:12claiming individuals from those nations have caused harm. The remarks come after a recent
00:18shooting near the White House that killed one National Guard member and critically injured
00:23another. Authorities have identified the attacker as an Afghan national.
00:30So you announced that asylum. And that includes Somalians and includes plenty of others. How long does your administration plan to pause asylum into the U.S.? I think a long time. Can you give any kind of time? We don't want those people. We have enough problems. We don't want those people. Is that a year, two years? No time limit, but it could be a long time.
00:52The pause applies to 19 countries already subject to U.S. travel restrictions since June, which includes Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran and Myanmar.
01:02The shooting on November 26 claimed the life of 20-year-old Sarah Backstorm and left another guardsman seriously wounded.
01:09Rahmanullah Lakanwal had been a part of a CIA-backed force fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan and entered the U.S. through a resettlement program after the 2021 American withdrawal.
01:20He was granted asylum in April 2025.
01:24Trump, however, has blamed his predecessor Joe Biden's administration for what he called lax vetting for Lakanwal's admission to the U.S.
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