REUTERS—U.S. authorities believe the Afghan immigrant accused of ambushing National Guard members in Washington, D.C., was not radicalized until after he came to the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Sunday. Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and ABC’s “This Week,” Noem said authorities think alleged shooter Rahmanullah Lakanwal was already living in Washington state when he became radicalized. Investigators are seeking more information from family members and others, Noem said. .@Sec_Noem on the National Guards attacker: "We believe he was radicalized since he has been here in this country. We do believe that it was through connections in his home community and state… Unvetted by Joe Biden, allowed to run free." pic.twitter.com/6X2YtMMmTl— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 30, 2025 Authorities identified Lakanwal, 29, as the suspect in a Wednesday shooting that took place just blocks away from the White House and which killed one National Guard member and critically wounded another. After the shooting, President Donald Trump’s administration pointed to a lack of vetting of Afghans and other foreign nationals during the term of former President Joe Biden, although Lakanwal was granted asylum under Trump. Trump told reporters on Sunday his administration could pause asylum admissions into the United States for an extended period. “No time limit, but it could be a long time,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “We have enough problems. We don’t want those people.” .@POTUS on reverse migration: "It means get people OUT that in are in our country — get them out of here. I want to get them out. We got a lot of people in our country that shouldn't be here and they came in through Biden… We're paying a big price for it." pic.twitter.com/a7fMfjOugP— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 30, 2025 Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 as part of the Biden administration’s mass evacuation of Afghans who aided U.S. forces during the two-decade war in Afghanistan as the Taliban took power. He was granted asylum in April by Trump’s administration, a government file reviewed by Reuters showed. Noem’s comments suggest Lakanwal, who was part of a CIA-backed unit in Afghanistan, may have embraced extremism after arriving in the United States. “We believe he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country,” Noem told NBC News. “We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state, and we’re going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him, who were his family members.” Noem said U.S. officials have received “some participation” so far from people who knew Lakanwal and warned the U.S. would pursue anyone connected to the shooting. “Anyone who has the information on this needs to know that we will be coming after you, and we will bring you to justice,” Noem said. After Wednesday’s attack, the Trump administration took steps to clamp down on some legal immigration, including a freeze on processing of all asylum applications. "Will you deport people with pending asylum claims?"@Sec_Noem: "We will if they should be, absolutely. Yes. We are going to go through every single person that has a pending asylum claim." pic.twitter.com/3puyEdIopl— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 30, 2025 Noem said on Sunday immigration officials would consider deporting people with active asylum cases if it was warranted. “We are going to go through every single person that has a pending asylum claim,” she said. (Reporting by Ted Hesson and Jasper Ward; additional reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Sergio Non, Chizu Nomiyama and Chris Reese) The post National Guard Shooting Suspect Radicalized in US, Homeland Secretary Says appeared first on The Daily Signal.