US EditionWhat Is Operation Allies Welcome, the Program Officials Say Brought the DC Shooting Suspect to the US?
Rahmanullah Lakanwal arrived under a program resettling over 190,000 Afghans after US withdrawal, raising questions about vetting and asylum policy changes.
- On Wednesday night, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the suspect accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members near the White House, arrived via Operation Allies Welcome on September 8, 2021.
- Former President Joe Biden launched Operation Allies Welcome in August 2021 to evacuate Afghan allies with multi-layered security vetting by DHS, FBI, Department of Defense and intelligence partners, later shifting to Enduring Welcome with more than 88,000 arrivals admitted under humanitarian parole.
- He applied for asylum in 2024 and was later granted it under the Trump administration, while authorities have been re-interviewing Afghan migrants and USCIS stopped processing Afghan requests late Wednesday.
- The incident has placed renewed political scrutiny on the resettlement program as President Donald Trump said, `This attack underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation` and called for a re-examination of Afghan arrivals under the Biden administration.
- Over 190,000 Afghans have resettled in the U.S., an estimated 260,000 applicants remain waiting, and more than 40% were eligible for Special Immigrant Visas , DHS says.
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96 Articles
‘A Promise Is a Promise’: Some Republicans in Congress Don’t Want Afghan Allies Shut Out
"To say that we're not going to bring anybody that served by our side and who helped maybe save American lives during this war in Afghanistan, I don't think that's right," Rep. Don Bacon said. Francis Chung/POLITICO/APAs the Trump administration cancels visas for Afghans and moves to review the status of those already in the country, some Republicans lawmakers aren’t so eager to exclude people who worked with U.S. troops.“A promise is a promise,…
It’s ludicrous — and cruel — to punish all immigrants after National Guard shooting
The BDN Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom, and does not set policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com. Tragically, two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot in Washington, D.C., last week. One of them, 20-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, died of her injuries. The shooter has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who drove across the c…
National Guardsman wounded in DC shooting shows positive sign, as profile of suspected gunman emerges
(WASHINGTON) -- As investigators continue to probe what motivated a man to allegedly gun down two West Virginia National Guard members, killing one just blocks from the White House, officials said on Monday that the victim who survived the attack was making positive progress.
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