A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III safely transported approximately 640 Afghan citizens from Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 15, 2021. The evacuees were flown from Kabul to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar sat on the floor of the plane’s cargo hold. File Photo via U.S. Air Force/UPI | License Photo
President Donald Trump late Thursday announced he will “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries” one day after an Afghan national allegedly shot two National Guard members two blocks from the White House.
Trump, who is at his Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, posted two items in his Thanksgiving message, writing: “A very Happy Thanksgiving salutation to all of our Great American Citizens and Patriots who have been so nice in allowing our Country to be divided, disrupted, carved up, murdered, beaten, mugged, and laughed at, along with certain other foolish countries throughout the World, for being ‘Politically Correct,’ and just plain STUPID, when it comes to Immigration.”
His comments were posted shortly after he announced in a video message to troops the death of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, 20. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition.
They both were members of the West Virginia National Guard, called up to help deter crime in the nation’s capital.
The suspect, Rahmanulla Lakanwal, 29, remains hospitalized after being short by another guard member and will face a first-degree murder charge, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said Friday.
In an 89-word sentence on Truth Social, Trump said: “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, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s Autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country, end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of our Country, denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
Though he didn’t specify what would be considered a “third world” country,” generally it means those from nations with higher poverty rates and economic instability.
Since taking office for the second time on Jan. 20, Trump has been clamping down on migrants in the nation illegally. And in June, he announced a travel ban involving immigrants from 19 nations, including Afghanistan.
“These goals will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations, including those admitted through an unauthorized and illegal Autopen approval process,” he posted Thursday. “Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation. Other than that, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for – You won’t be here for long!”
In an earlier post on Thursday, he showed a photo of an airlift of migrants from 2021 when the U.S. evacuated U.S. citizens and Afghan nationals after government control was relinquished to the Taliban.
“Hundreds of thousands of people poured into our Country totally unvetted and unchecked,” he wrote. “We will fix it, but will never forget what Crooked Joe Biden and his Thugs did to our Country!”
“When they’re flown in, it’s very hard to get them out,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “No matter how you want to do it, it’s very hard to get them out.”
On Wednesday after the attack, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director Joseph Edlow said in a post on X: “At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.”
Also, the agency suspended all immigration requests involving Afghan nationals.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called up an additional 500 guard members to the nation’s capital. In all, 2,000 members have been deployed to the city, though U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops for crime control purposes was likely illegal.
As a strong presence in the city, they patrol metro stations and tourist areas, as well as performing beautification projects, including picking up trash and spreading mulch.
Guard victims
Beckstrom and Wolfe were part of the 863rd Military Police Company. They were deployed as part of “Operation D.C. Safe and Beautiful,” which began in June.
West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, commented to Fox News on Friday about the death and injury of two guard members, saying: “When this hits one West Virginian, it hits all – particularly in service to our country.”
She said West Virginians are “rallying together” after the attack.
“West Virginians are a strong bunch. Sarah went to a small school, Webster County High School. She lived in Summersville. These are very small communities who always wrap their arms around. I’ve seen so much on social media about the prayers and the warmth coming from those families.”
Beckstram joined the guard in June 2023 with hopes of working for the FBI.
She initially dreaded the assignment, her former boyfriend said
“I loved her to pieces,” Adam Carr told CNN. “She never deserved any of that. I always wished the best for her.”
About Wolfe, who has been a member of the guard since 2019, she said: “Andrew went to Musselman High School from the eastern panhandle, near Martinsburg. His classmates, his teachers, his counselors, his principal, his family, have all been reaching out and trying to comfort one another.”
His father, Jason Wolfe, called Andrew a “great person and “he’s a fighter.”
Suspect
Pirri said Lakanwal will face federal murder charges.
“There are certainly many more charges to come, but we are upgrading the initial charges of assault to murder in the first degree,” Pirro told Fox News on Friday morning.
“What we know about him is that he drove his vehicle across country from the state of Washington with the intended target of coming to our nation’s capital.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi previously said the Department of Jusdtice will seek the death penty if one of the guard members dies.
Lakanwal arrived in the United States in 2021after the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan. More than 190,000 Afghans were admitted to the U.S. as part of Operation Allies Welcome and Enduring Welcome, according to the State Department.
Lakanwal was “clean on all checks” before working for the government in Afghanistan, including the CIA since 2011.
He was granted asylum in April by the Trump administration, officials told CNN.
The suspect lived in Bellimgham, Wash., with his wife and children.
Trump said they are looking into deporting the family.
Amazon confirmed to CNN a man by the name of the suspect worked for the Amazon Flex delivery service.
