The Trump administration has attributed a Washington D.C. shooting involving an Afghan immigrant to Biden-era vetting failures. However, official documents reveal the suspect received asylum approval this year during President Trump’s administration.
According to a U.S. government file reviewed by Reuters, 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal entered the United States on September 8, 2021, under Operation Allies Welcome. This program was established by the Biden administration following the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Lakanwal applied for asylum in December 2024 and received approval on April 23 of this year, three months after President Trump took office. The suspect had no known criminal history and previously worked with U.S. government forces in Afghanistan.
During a Thursday press conference, FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, both Trump appointees, asserted the Biden administration failed to conduct adequate background checks before admitting Lakanwal in 2021. Neither official presented evidence supporting these claims.
Mace: This would never have happened with President Trump in The Oval Office. pic.twitter.com/4rAemupNS6
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 27, 2025White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson stated, “This animal would’ve never been here if not for Joe Biden’s dangerous policies which allowed countless unvetted criminals to invade our country.”
Operation Allies Welcome permitted more than 70,000 Afghan nationals to enter the U.S. following the Taliban takeover. The program included vetting procedures involving U.S. counter-terrorism and intelligence agencies, though critics questioned the efficiency of these checks during the rushed evacuation.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed Lakanwal worked with CIA-backed local units in Kandahar, Afghanistan, which formed the basis for his initial admission to the United States.
President Trump has ordered deployment of additional troops to Washington and suspended all immigration applications from Afghan nationals. The administration will review all Biden-era asylum cases, including applications from Afghans who worked with U.S. intelligence agencies.
This incident has renewed debate about U.S. immigration vetting procedures and revived criticism of the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, which resulted in the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and mass evacuations.
