WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that authorities believe the suspect in the U.S. National Guard shooting has been radicalized and that the migrant asylum process will resume once the government clears a backlog of applications under new standards after the attack.
Her comments come after Trump said he would “permanently pause” migration from “Third World countries” after the shooting suspect was identified by the National Guard as an Afghan citizen. NBC News previously reported that it was a suspect granted asylum this year.
Noem said during Sunday’s interview that the government believes the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, “has been radicalized since he’s been here in this country.”
“We truly believe this was through connections in his home community and state, and we will continue to talk to those who came into contact with him,” Noem said.
In a separate interview on ABC News’ “This Week.” Noem said suspect ‘could have been radicalized’ in US
NBC News has reported that Lakanwal, who served alongside American troops in Afghanistan, came to the US in 2021, during the Biden administration, but was granted asylum during the Trump administration.
Lakanwal will be accused of first-degree murder, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said this last week. National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom died last week and National Guard member Andrew Wolfe remains in the hospital.
Asked about the vetting process to approve his asylum claim during the Trump administration, Noem argued that “vetting takes place when they enter the country, and that was completely abandoned under the Joe Biden administration.”
She also said that “the vetting process all took place under the Joe Biden administration.” A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NBC News has reported that the suspect would have been vetted again when he applied for asylum, several officials said. He was granted asylum in April during the Trump administration.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said in a separate interview on “Meet the Press” that the Trump administration is “going to blame everything on Joe Biden.”
“It’s almost becoming comical at this point,” he added.
Last week the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said inside a message on X that “USCIS has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the fullest extent possible.”
Noem said the asylum process would resume after the backlog of cases was “cleared” and vetted according to Trump administration standards.
“The individuals participating in that program here in this country should be vetted against our standards that we are implementing under President Trump to ensure that they should even be in our country, and if they are not, immediately removed,” Noem said.
Asked whether she would deport people with pending asylum claims, Noem said: “We will if that’s what needs to happen.”
“Absolutely, yes,” she added.
Kelly said in his interview that “it sounds like there was some investigation done during the last administration.”
“It seems they didn’t do enough research before giving him his asylum claim,” he added. “She talked about changing the vetting process. I think that’s a good idea.”
Alexandra Marquez, Dan De Luce and Rich Schapiro contributed.
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