Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) weighed in on President Donald Trump escalating his immigration crackdown following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., in an ambush attack tied to an Afghan national.
Appearing Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” host Kristen Welker questioned what Kelly’s thoughts were on Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem defending Trump’s decision to “permanently pause migration from all third-world countries.”
“Well, let me start by saying what happened to the two guardsmen, Andrew Wolfe, Sarah Beckstrom, horrific,” the Arizona senator said of the victims. “And it shouldn’t happen. And I’m praying for him and for her family. It was a horrible, horrible thing.”
Beckstrom died on Thursday, and Wolfe is in critical condition.
Trump’s decision came after the shooting on Wednesday, just blocks away from the White House. After the suspect detained in the shooting was identified as a 29-year-old Afghan national, who had moved to the U.S. to serve in a special CIA-backed Afghan Army unit, the Trump administration said it was halting all asylum decisions.
The Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, faces charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said last week the charges could be enhanced later, saying, “We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree. But make no mistake, if they do not, that will certainly be the charge.”
Noting that “there needs to be an investigation and accountability,” Kelly declared the Trump administration is sending a “message that they don’t want brown people coming to the United States” with its move to suspend immigration from developing nations to the U.S.
Calling the Trump administration’s actions “disturbing,” Kelly told Welker that America “has always welcomed individuals that are struggling, that are fleeing famine and violence.”
He added, “And it would be a fundamental change to the fabric of our nation to change that.”
In a Truth Social post on Thanksgiving, Trump announced he was taking his aggressive immigration policy up a notch after National Guard member Beckstrom died due to the shooting.
“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover,” the commander-in-chief wrote in the Nov. 27 post.
Trump also took aim at former President Joe Biden for all of his “illegal admissions” during his predecessor’s presidency, vowing to “terminate all of the millions” of them.
In a separate interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Noem told Welker that the administration believes that Lakanwal, who came to the U.S. in 2021 during the Biden administration, was “radicalized since he’s been here in this country.” Lakanwal was granted asylum during the Trump administration.
“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,” Noem added.
The GOP secretary also took aim at Biden when questioned about the vetting process to approve his asylum claim during the Trump administration, arguing that “vetting is happening when they come into the country, and that was completely abandoned under Joe Biden’s administration.”
Watch Kelly’s appearance on “Meet the Press” below.