THE man accused of fatally shooting a National Guard member near the White House on Wednesday is facing first-degree murder charges, amid a wave of policy moves and rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump targeting migrants from what he described as "Third World Countries."
Reuters reported on Saturday U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro saying on Friday that 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal ambushed two West Virginia National Guard soldiers, killing 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and critically wounding 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe. Formal charges against Lakanwal were not immediately filed.
Investigators said he drove from his home in Washington state armed with a .357 Magnum revolver before being wounded in an exchange of gunfire with other troops.
Lakanwal arrived in the U.S. in 2021 under President Joe Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome program for Afghans who assisted U.S. forces during the war in Afghanistan.
He was granted asylum under Trump earlier this year. Authorities described him as a former member of a CIA-backed unit in Afghanistan and a resident of Washington state with a wife and five children.
U.S. President Donald Trump labelled the shooting a “terrorist attack” during a Thanksgiving call with military personnel and swiftly escalated his stance on immigration.
“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions… and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States,” Trump said in social media posts.
He did not specify which countries are incuded or clarify what constitutes a permanent pause.
Trump’s administration has also ordered widespread reviews of asylum cases approved under the Biden administration and green cards issued to citizens of 19 countries, including Afghanistan.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated plans to propose regulations limiting certain benefits to individuals Trump described as “illegal aliens.”
Legal experts warn that the president lacks the authority to unilaterally make permanent changes to the immigration system, which is governed by Congress, and federal courts may block his orders.
International organisations urged the United States to maintain asylum protections and due process.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the U.N. Secretary-General, said, “We expect all countries, including the United States, to honour their commitments under the 1953 Refugee Convention.”
Jasmin Lilian Diab, director of the Institute for Migration at the Lebanese American University, noted, “While the recent incident is tragic, using an isolated incident to justify mass restrictions is inconsistent with evidence showing no link between refugee arrivals and increased crime.”
The incident has also affected National Guard operations in the capital, with noticeably fewer personnel patrolling on Friday following the national holiday.
Meanwhile, Lakanwal’s family and the broader Afghan asylum community in the U.S. face uncertainty as the government weighs potential legal and enforcement actions in response to the attack.
This shooting has ignited a tense national debate over security, immigration policy, and the treatment of asylum seekers, highlighting the clash between immediate law enforcement responses and broader humanitarian commitments. - November 29, 2025
