Officials criticize Biden vetting, but Afghan shooting suspect was granted asylum under Trump

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration on Thursday blamed Biden-era investigative failures for the admission of an Afghan immigrant suspected of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, DC, but the alleged gunman was granted asylum this year under President Donald Trump, according to a U.S. government file seen by Reuters.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, entered the United States on September 8, 2021, as part of Operation Allied Welcome. The resettlement program was established by former Democratic President Joe Biden after the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 that led to the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and the takeover of the country by the Taliban.

FBI Director Kash Patel and Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, both Trump appointees, said during a news conference Thursday that the Biden administration had failed to conduct adequate background checks and a background investigation on Lakanwal before allowing him to enter the United States in 2021.

None of the officials provided any evidence to support their claim.

Andrew Leyden via Getty Images

Patel said Lakanwal, who had worked with U.S. government forces during the U.S. war in Afghanistan, was improperly allowed into the United States because “the previous administration made the decision to allow thousands of people into this country without conducting a single background check or investigation.”

The program, which allowed more than 70,000 Afghan citizens to enter the United States, according to a congressional report, was designed with vetting procedures, including by U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism agencies. But the rushed, large-scale nature of the evacuations led critics to say the background checks were ineffective.

THE AFGHAN SUSPECT HAD WORKED WITH THE CIA

Under the Operation Allies Welcome program, Afghans evacuated to the United States were granted a two-year “parole” that allowed them to live and work legally and then apply for more permanent status.

The document reviewed by Reuters said Lakanwal applied for asylum in December 2024 and was approved on April 23 of this year, three months after Trump took office. Lakanwal, 29, who resided in Washington state, had no known criminal history, the official said.

The government file on Lakanwal said he had been reviewed by the United States because of his work with U.S. government partners during the war in Afghanistan, and no potentially disqualifying information had been found.

“This animal would never have been here if it weren’t for Joe Biden’s dangerous policies, which allowed countless uninvestigated criminals to invade our country and harm the American people,” said White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement that Lakanwal had worked with local CIA-backed units in Afghanistan.

“The Biden Administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his previous work with the US government, including the CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly after the chaotic evacuation,” Ratcliffe said. “This individual, and so many others, should never have been allowed to come here.”

The fact that an immigrant shot at American troops on American soil is likely to reverberate throughout the American political landscape. Trump has already ordered the deployment of 500 more troops to Washington.

While Lakanwal was in the country legally, the incident directly influences Trump’s narrative on immigration. He has made the fight against legal and illegal immigration a centerpiece of his presidency, and this case may give him an opportunity to broaden the debate beyond legality to include closer scrutiny of immigrant vetting.

In a video message released by the White House on Wednesday, Trump called Lakanwal an “animal” and the shootings “an act of terror.”

Trump called for a “reexamination” of all Afghan citizens who entered the United States during the Biden administration. All immigration applications by Afghan citizens were suspended by the Trump administration on Wednesday night.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the Trump administration would review all Biden-era asylum cases, expanding on a review of Biden-era refugees reported by Reuters earlier this week.

A source familiar with the matter said the suspension included requests from Afghans who had worked with the CIA.

The attack has also reignited the Trump administration’s criticism of the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

The withdrawal caused a collapse of the Afghan government much faster than expected. The evacuation of thousands of Afghans fueled Republican concerns that potential terrorists could sneak into the United States.

(Reporting by Tim Reid and Ted Hesson, additional reporting by Erin Banco and Jana Winter; editing by Ross Colvin and Nia Williams)