Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday that she is recommending a broad new travel ban targeting approximately 30 countries, following last week’s fatal shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C.
The suspect, an Afghan national who entered the United States legally in 2021 under a Biden-era evacuation program, killed 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and left 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe in critical condition.
Noem posted on X that she had just met with President Donald Trump and was urging “a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”
Trump reposted her statement on Truth Social without additional comment.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the list of affected countries would be released soon.
Multiple officials told U.S. media the proposal would expand an existing June proclamation that already restricts travel from 19 nations, bringing the total to around 30.
The administration has intensified immigration restrictions since the shooting.
All asylum processing has been paused indefinitely paused, and officials are reviewing green cards issued to nationals from the restricted countries.
In October, the refugee admissions ceiling was lowered to a record 7,500, with priority reportedly given to certain groups.
Trump has separately threatened to “permanently pause” immigration from what he calls “third world countries” and vowed to remove any foreign national who is not a “net asset” to the United States.
The Afghan Community Coalition of the United States condemned the attack, offered condolences, and urged that Afghan immigration claims not be suspended, citing two decades of U.S.-Afghan partnership.
The United Nations has called on the U.S. to respect international asylum obligations.