Trump says US to halt asylum for ‘long time’

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that his administration plans to halt asylum for a "long time" after a deadly shooting near the White House by an Afghan national.

"I think a long time," he told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to Washington, DC from Florida, where he spent the Thanksgiving holiday at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Pressed to provide a timeframe, he added: "We have enough problems. We don't want those people." When asked whether the pause could last a year or two, Trump said: "No time limit, but it could be a long time." Trump said the policy was directed at migrants from countries he described as "very crime ridden" and "not friendly to us," adding that some nations "are out of control themselves."

He singled out Somalia, saying such people "come into our country and tell us how to run our country." He was referring to Somalia-born, Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar.

His remarks came after Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national, was identified as the suspected shooter in an attack that killed one National Guard member and wounded another near the White House on Wednesday. According to US media reports, Lakanwal entered the US in 2021 following the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan and had previously worked with multiple US government entities, including the CIA.