(MENAFN) Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has urged the implementation of a broad travel prohibition on nations allegedly “flooding” the United States with criminal migrants.

Her demand follows the identification of an Afghan asylum seeker as the primary suspect in last week’s shooting of two National Guard personnel in Washington, DC. Shortly afterward, the U.S. government halted all visa services for holders of Afghan passports.

In a message posted on X on Tuesday, Noem explained that she had met with President Donald Trump and is “recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”

She contended that the United States was never intended “for foreign invaders” who might “slaughter our heroes” or deplete public funds.

“We don't want them. Not one,” she insisted, though she did not specify which nations would be included in such a restriction. Trump subsequently amplified Noem’s remarks by sharing her post on Truth Social.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the detained suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the country under a special initiative created in 2021 to relocate at-risk Afghans after the Taliban regained control.

He now faces first-degree murder charges, as Specialist Sarah Beckstrom—one of two West Virginia National Guard members wounded in the incident—succumbed to her injuries on Thanksgiving Day.

Her fellow service member, Andrew Woolfe, remains in critical condition and continues to battle for survival.

Trump attributed responsibility to former President Joe Biden for permitting Lakanwal’s entry into the United States and pledged to “permanently pause migration” from selected regions.

He added that immigration cases from 19 countries will undergo renewed scrutiny, including those from Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Haiti, Sudan, Yemen, Libya, and Venezuela.

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