Biden’s Department of Homeland Security insisted Afghan evacuees were thoroughly vetted, but sources confirm the alleged D.C. Guardsmen shooter was admitted through a Biden-era rapid resettlement program for Afghans.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under former President Joe Biden promised to ‘swiftly and safely’ resettle Afghan allies into the United States, but multiple sources have confirmed the alleged D.C. National Guard shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the U.S. through this same Biden-era program in 2021.
Biden responded to the ‘targeted’ attack in D.C. just before news broke of how the shooter, a 29-year-old Afghan national, was admitted via humanitarian parole under Operation Allies Welcome, per DHS and FBI sources. The rushed nature of the evacuation and broader concerns over immigration policies have sparked fears about the vetting process and national security implications. Mayorkas, the former Homeland Security Secretary, had promised a robust vetting process, but the incident has brought attention to potential gaps in the security protocols.
During the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration launched a large operation to support and resettle vulnerable Afghans, including those that had helped U.S. troops in the past. However, due to the rushed nature of the evacuation, along with broader concerns over immigration and parole-release policies, fears arose over whom the country may have been letting in.
Mayorkas said during a September 2021 press conference that 120,000 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan since the beginning of the U.S. withdrawal, just months earlier. The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center found that nearly 800 aircraft evacuated thousands of people over just a 17-day period in August 2021.
At the time, Mayorkas touted the robust biometric screening and vetting process in place — in both the U.S. and transit countries — in order to make sure every individual entering the country was properly screened. In response to a question at the time from Fox News’ Jake Gibson, Mayorkas confirmed that there had already been individuals flagged with ‘derogatory information’ during the vetting process, but did not specify the number of people flagged.
Mayorkas assured that 400 U.S. Customs and Border Patrol employees and the Transportation Security Administration would be brought up to assist. Part of the effort included moving refugees from military bases designated by the Pentagon to house and vet refugees before they entered the United States.
Lakanwal, who entered the U.S. in September 2021 after America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, had his permission to stay in the U.S. granted under Operation Allies Welcome, sources said. Authorities are investigating the shooting as a possible act of international terrorism.
FBI officials confirmed two West Virginia National Guardsmen remain in critical condition after being shot in the head during an apparent targeted attack just a few blocks from the White House.
During comments Wednesday night, President Donald Trump called Biden ‘a disastrous president’ and ‘the worst in the history of our country.’ He also ridiculed the former president for flying Lakanwal ‘on those infamous flights that everybody was talking about.’
‘Nobody knew who was coming in, nobody knew anything about it,’ Trump pointed out about the Afghan evacuation process under Biden. He also slammed broader parole and immigration policies under Biden, claiming Lakanwal’s ‘status was extended under legislation signed under President Biden.’
‘This attack underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation,’ Trump added, announcing that the government ‘must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country under Biden.’
Trump also appeared to suggest the death penalty for Lakanwal, stating toward the end of his address that ‘we will bring the perpetrator of this barbaric attack to swift and certain justice – if the bullet’s going in the opposite direction – (unintelligible).’
Former President Biden responded to the tragic D.C. attack.
‘Jill and I are heartbroken that two members of the National Guard were shot outside the White House,’ Biden posted on X, just before news broke that the shooter entered the country under his administration’s rapid resettlement program.
‘Violence of any kind is unacceptable, and we must all stand united against it. We are praying for the service members and their families.’
Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on the news that Lakanwal came into the United States under the Biden-era program, but did not receive a response. Attempts to reach Mayorkas also were unsuccessful in time for publication.