The Latest: Trump wants to ‘permanently pause’ migration to the US from poorer countries

President Donald Trump says he wants to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations and is promising to seek to expel millions of immigrants from the United States by revoking their legal status. He is blaming immigrants for problems from crime to housing shortages as part of “social dysfunction” in America and demanding “REVERSE MIGRATION.”

His most severe social media post against immigration since returning to the Oval Office in January came after two National Guard members were shot while patrolling the streets of the nation’s capital under his orders. One died, and the other is in critical condition.

Since the shooting not far from the White House, administration officials have pledged to reexamine millions of legal immigrants, building on a 10-month campaign to reduce the immigrant population. In a lengthy social media post late Thursday, the Republican president asserted that millions of people born outside the U.S. and now living in the country bore a large share of the blame for America’s societal ills.

Here’s the latest:

Soon after Wednesday’s shooting, Trump said he would send 500 more National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. It’s not clear where the additional troops would come from.

As of early November, the D.C. National Guard had the largest number on the ground, with 949 members. In addition to West Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama also had forces in the capital early this month.

A federal judge last week ordered an end to the Guard deployment but also put her order on hold for 21 days to allow the Trump administration time to either remove the troops or appeal.

Video reviewed by investigators showed Lakanwal “came around the corner” on Wednesday afternoon and immediately started firing at the troops, according to Jeffery Carroll, an executive assistant D.C. police chief.

Troops ran over and held down the shooter, Carroll said, and he was taken into custody. Authorities believe he was the only gunman.

Carroll said that it was not clear whether one of the Guard members or a law enforcement officer shot Lakanwal.

The suspect’s wounds were not believed to be life-threatening, one of the officials said.

Beckstrom, 20, and Wolfe, 24, were deployed with the West Virginia National Guard to the nation’s capital as part of Trump’s crime-fighting mission that involved taking over the local police department. There were nearly 2,200 Guard members from various states in D.C. for the mission.

Both Beckstrom and Wolfe were on orders in Washington since August, according to the West Virginia National Guard.

Beckstrom, a resident of Summersville, West Virginia, had volunteered for the operation “to ensure the safety and security of our nation’s capital,” the West Virginia National Guard said in a statement. She had graduated from Webster County High School in June 2023 and enlisted with the guard that month, serving “with distinction” as a military police officer, the guard said.

Wolfe, who is from Martinsburg, West Virginia, entered service in February 2019. He had graduated from Musselman High School as part of the Class of 2019, said Karla Troppman, a spokesperson for Berkeley County Schools in West Virginia.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued a proclamation Friday requesting that all West Virginians observe a statewide moment of silence or prayer at 2:15 p.m. to honor Wolfe and Beckstrom.

He also ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in recognition of Beckstrom’s death.

Wolfe serves with the 167th Force Support Squadron and Beckstrom served with the 863rd Military Police Company, the governor said in a news release.

“These two West Virginia heroes were serving our country and protecting our nation’s capital when they were maliciously attacked,” Morrisey said. “Their courage and commitment to duty represent the very best of our state.”

In an interview on Fox News, Pirro said there are “many charges to come” beyond the upgraded murder charge.

She said her heart goes out to the family of Beckstrom, who volunteered to serve and “ended up being shot ambush-style on the cold streets of Washington, D.C., by an individual who will now be charged with murder in the first degree.”

Pirro declined to discuss the suspect’s motive, saying officials have been working around the clock on that question. Investigators are continuing to execute warrants in the state of Washington and other parts of the country, she said.

She said Wolfe remains in critical condition and that “we still have hope.”

“We are doing everything we can to assist his family and to make sure that they have everything they need during this difficult time for them,” Pirro said.

Lakanwal, 29, had worked in a special CIA-backed Afghan Army unit before emigrating from Afghanistan, according to two sources who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, and #AfghanEvac, a group that helps resettle Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the two-decade war.

He entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from the country, officials said.

Lakanwal applied for asylum during the Biden administration, but his asylum was approved under the Trump administration, #AfghanEvac said in a statement.

Supporters have said there was extensive vetting and the program offered a lifeline to people at risk of Taliban reprisals.

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, announced Friday that charges against a man who authorities say shot two National Guard members have been upgraded to first-degree murder.

The announcement comes after the death of one of the soldiers.

Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were hospitalized in critical condition after Wednesday afternoon’s shooting and Trump announced Thursday evening that Beckstrom had died.

As of Thursday morning, Rahmanullah Lakanwal faced charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, but Pirro suggested that the charges would be upgraded to first-degree murder if the victims did not survive.

Pirro said that Lakanwal drove across the country to launch an “ambush-style” attack with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver. He initially faced charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Pirro said that “it’s too soon to say” what the suspect’s motives were.

People who work with refugees are worried that those who fled dangerous situations to start again in America will face backlash after authorities say an Afghan national shot two National Guard soldiers this week, killing one of them.

Many Afghans living in the U.S. are afraid to leave their houses, fearing they’ll be swept up by immigration officials or attacked with hate speech, said Shawn VanDiver, president of the San Diego-based group #AfghanEvac, a group that helps resettle Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the two-decade war.

“They’re terrified. It’s insane,” VanDiver told The Associated Press Thursday. “People are acting xenophobic because of one deranged man. He doesn’t represent all Afghans. He represents himself.”