DC shooting suspect entered US through Biden's 'Operation Allies Welcome' program: Kristi Noem
WASHINGTON, DC: The man accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House reportedly arrived on American soil through a Joe Biden-era pipeline designed to give vulnerable Afghans a new start.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revealed on Wednesday, November 26, that the suspect came in under "Operation Allies Welcome," a program launched in August 2021 as the US scrambled out of Afghanistan and the Taliban rolled back into power.
Former President Joe Biden kicked off the initiative to “protect vulnerable Afghans in the wake of the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan,” one of the most controversial chapters of his tenure.
According to Noem, the suspect (identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal) touched down in the US on September 8, 2021. He reportedly managed to secure asylum this year after having applied for it last year. Multiple law enforcement officials told CNN that approval came under the Trump administration.
Inside Biden-era 'Operation Allies Welcome'
Under "Operation Allies Welcome," tens of thousands of Afghans were allowed into the US for two-year stays. However, there were no guarantees of long-term status.
The Department of Homeland Security says more than 40% of those admitted were eligible for the coveted Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, reserved for those who “took great risks to help the US” or were related to someone who did.
A year after launch, the whole operation got a rebrand to “Enduring Welcome,” shifting toward a long-game approach reliant on the SIV process and the traditional US refugee pipeline.
Between "Operation Allies Welcome" and its new incarnation, over 190,000 Afghans have been resettled in the US, according to the State Department.
But the system is jammed as processing has slowed to a crawl. Thousands of Afghans already targeted by the Taliban reportedly remain stuck in limbo in places like Pakistan.
Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac, said an estimated 260,000 Afghans have applied to come to the US and are still waiting. He told CNN that many are trapped in Afghanistan itself and facing real danger.
Trump slams Biden for letting in '20 million unknown and unvetted foreigners'
After Wednesday’s shooting, President Donald Trump wasted no time torching Joe Biden’s immigration policies, blaming his predecessor for letting in “20 million unknown and unvetted foreigners.” He demanded a sweeping reexamination of every Afghan who arrived during Biden’s watch.
In his nighttime address, Trump called the shooting “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror,” adding, “It was a crime against our entire nation.”
Hours earlier, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it would stop processing all Afghan immigration cases “indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”
Since taking office in January, Trump has already moved aggressively to overhaul refugee admissions and slash foreign assistance. These changes have reportedly cut off thousands of Afghans who aided US forces from the vital support they were depending on.
Migrants vetted and revetted, officials say
Joe Biden-era officials reportedly insist the US didn’t just wave Afghans in without being vetted. Every single evacuee was put through security screenings run by intelligence, law enforcement, and counterterrorism professionals. Many were vetted multiple times before leaving Afghanistan, then again in transit hubs, before setting foot in America.
CNN reported earlier this week that the Trump administration was already in the process of reinterviewing Afghan migrants who had previously been resettled.
However, VanDiver urged Americans not to paint all Afghans with the same brush. “We’ve got so many people who are here, and one guy doing this does not mean that all Afghan families are troublemakers or terrorists," he insisted.
