WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is moving to extend its crackdown on immigration and bring a first-degree murder charge against the suspected gunman in the shooting of two National Guard members following the death of one of the victims.

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said the suspected gunman would face new charges after U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, who was shot in Wednesday’s attack near the White House, died.

“There are certainly many more charges to come, but we are upgrading the initial charges of assault to murder in the first degree,” Pirro announced in an interview Friday morning on Fox News. Pirro said the other victim, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition.

Federal authorities have identified the suspected shooter as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national who previously worked with U.S. forces and the CIA in Afghanistan before he arrived in the U.S. in 2021.

The Trump administration and allies have seized on the case, blaming Democratic former President Joe Biden for letting Lakanwal enter the U.S. and pushing for deeper restrictions on migration.

Trump announced Beckstrom’s death during a call Thursday with service members to mark the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. and hours later outlined the next steps his administration plans to take, including halting admissions from certain developing nations, revoking citizenship for some naturalized migrants and ending all federal benefits for noncitizens.

Trump said he would “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries” and “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility.” He added that he would terminate millions of admissions made under Biden and “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country.”

The president’s remarks — in posts to his Truth Social network — however, did not offer details on what countries would be targeted or how he would implement those plans.

Any such moves are likely to draw legal challenges. It is also unclear what role Congress would play in the administration’s efforts. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have long struggled to coalesce around a plan for reforming the nation’s immigration laws despite bipartisan frustration with many aspects of the system. Republicans also hold only a slim majority in the House of Representatives.

‘Fluid Situation’

Authorities are treating the Washington shooting as a terror case but have not publicly described the suspect’s motive. Lakanwal lived in Washington state with his wife and children. Law enforcement officials have said he drove to the nation’s capital with the intent of carrying out the attack.

“We are hoping that the more information we can get, and the more investigation that is going on, 24/7 now, around the clock in Washington, the more we will find out about what actually happened in terms of this individual, even being in this country and being in a position to ambush and shoot down an innocent young woman,” Pirro said Friday.

Asked about a potential motive, Pirro said only that it was still a “fluid situation” and that the investigation was ongoing.

“As you well know there are a great deal of people working, as I said, around the clock, trying to put together exactly what was going on,” she added.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday that she would seek the death penalty for Lakanwal if either of the shooting victims died.

‘Permanently Pause’

The deadly shooting has led the administration to intensify its efforts to curtail both legal and illegal migration. Trump in his second term has ramped up deportations, severely lowered the refugee cap, ended temporary protected status for migrants from numerous countries, imposed a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas heavily used by tech companies and universities to bring over high-skilled workers, and revoked thousands of visas.

After the shooting, the White House moved quickly to halt Afghan immigration proceedings and ordered reviews for those who have already been admitted into the U.S.

The administration had already planned to review the cases of all refugees resettled under Biden and freeze their green card applications, according to a memo reviewed by Bloomberg this month. In June, the administration also announced a ban on immigration from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and Sudan, and restrictions on seven others.

Before the shooting, the president had defended some legal pathways for migration, including H-1B visas, as necessary for economic growth, even as he faced pressure from some supporters to do more to restrict migration — highlighting the tensions over immigration reform.

Business leaders who have cheered Trump’s tax policies and deregulatory agenda have expressed worries over his earlier immigration crackdown, fearing it will reduce labor supply. Trump’s policies have also complicated his efforts to draw more investment into the U.S., exemplified by an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raid on a Hyundai Motor Co. plant in Georgia that roiled ties with South Korea.

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(With assistance from Tony Czuczka.)

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