US Homeland Security Secretary calls for more travel bans

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has urged a wider travel ban after a Washington, DC shooting involving an Afghan national.

sarah

Dec 2, 2025 - 18:33

US Homeland Security Secretary calls for more travel bans

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said she will recommend a travel ban on several countries she claims are "flooding" criminal activity into the US.

Writing on social media on Monday, Noem said she met with President Donald Trump and decided to recommend a "complete travel ban on every country that is flooding our country with murderers, leeches, and entitlement-crazy people."

Trump and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) subsequently shared Noem's post on their official social media accounts.

It is not yet clear which countries will be affected by the proposed travel ban, or when it might begin. The has sought comment from DHS.

White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt told Fox News on Monday evening that Trump had announced a travel ban on "third world and failed states" several months ago, and Noem's recommendation would "expand" it to more countries.

On June 4, the White House released a list of 19 countries, primarily in Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean, that would face full or partial immigration restrictions.

Noem's comments came just days after two National Guard members were shot in Washington, DC, last Wednesday. Prior to her comments about the travel ban, Noem wrote on social media that 100,000 Afghan citizens entered the US under the Biden-era Operation Allies Welcome program, and said DHS would make major changes to the vetting process.

Authorities identified the suspect in the DC shooting as an Afghan national who came to the US in 2021 as part of the program, which was designed for locals who served alongside American troops during the 20-year US deployment in Afghanistan.

The Trump administration has intensified its immigration crackdown following the shooting, which killed 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and seriously injured 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe. West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey told reporters on Monday that Mr. Wolfe gave nurses a thumbs-up but remains in critical condition in the hospital.

All decisions on asylum requests were also halted following the D.C. shooting, with Joseph Edlow, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, saying they would remain halted "until we can ensure that every alien has been thoroughly vetted and screened."

Edlow also said he had asked Trump to review green cards issued to people migrating to the US from 19 countries.

On Thursday, Trump himself went a step further, threatening to "permanently halt migration" from all "third world countries." The term "Third World" was previously used to describe poor, developing countries.

In his Thanksgiving social media post, Trump accused refugees of creating "social dysfunction in America" and vowed that "anyone who is not a net asset" would be deported to the US.

During his second presidential term, Trump has called for the mass deportation of illegal immigrants, a reduction in annual refugee admissions, and the elimination of automatic citizenship rights currently granted to many people born in US territories.

The Afghan Community Coalition of the United States issued a statement after the DC attack, expressing sympathy for the families of the victims, demanding a "thorough investigation," and emphasizing that it was the act of one individual. The statement also called on the US government not to delay or block Afghan immigration claims.

The Coalition's "twenty years of Afghan-US partnership should not be forgotten." The statement said this marks the culmination of a two-decade effort launched by the US in 2001 to oust Afghanistan's Taliban rulers and establish security in the country.