The Biden-era program that pledged to “swiftly and safely” resettle Afghan allies into the United States is now under renewed scrutiny after multiple federal sources confirmed that the suspected Washington D.C. National Guard shooter arrived in the country through that same parole pipeline in 2021.
29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal was identified as the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers near the White House on Wednesday.
The shooting left two National Guard members critically injured.
Lakanwal is said to have arrived in the U.S. from Afghanistan in September 2021.
According to both DHS and FBI officials, Lakanwal was admitted under humanitarian parole via Operation Allies Welcome.
He was part of a rushed resettlement effort launched during former President Joe Biden’s chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The revelation emerged just as Biden issued a public statement condemning the “targeted” attack.
Biden’s remarks were posted just moments before news broke that Lakanwal had entered the country legally.
In 2021, amid international fallout and widespread criticism of the withdrawal, then–Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas publicly defended the administration’s rapid intake process, promising that DHS would “swiftly and safely” relocate Afghan allies.
He insisted the government had “denied evacuees” from entering the U.S. when “derogatory” information surfaced during screening.
Yet according to officials familiar with the process, the sheer speed of the evacuation, as 120,000 people were airlifted in a matter of weeks, raised serious concerns at the time about whether the vetting procedures could realistically keep pace.
Nearly 800 military aircraft were used over a 17-day evacuation period alone.
Mayorkas repeatedly touted “robust biometric screening,” including checks performed both abroad and on U.S. soil.
However, when questioned in 2021 about whether individuals with red flags had already been identified, Mayorkas acknowledged “derogatory information” had surfaced without specifying how many individuals were involved.
Lakanwal entered the U.S. in September 2021, sources said, and remained here through Biden-era extensions of humanitarian parole authority.
Authorities are now investigating whether the attack constitutes an act of international terrorism.
The shooting left two West Virginia National Guardsmen in critical condition after both were shot in the head near the White House.
Officials described the attack as “targeted.”
Trump: Biden’s Vetting System Failed
During remarks Wednesday night, President Donald Trump blasted Biden as “a disastrous president” and “the worst in the history of our country.”
He ridiculed Biden for flying Lakanwal and others into the U.S. “on those infamous flights that everybody was talking about,” adding:
“Nobody knew who was coming in, nobody knew anything about it.”
Trump went further, arguing the attack “underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation,” calling for the government to “reexamine every single alien who has entered our country under Biden.”
He suggested Lakanwal could face the death penalty, promising:
“We will bring the perpetrator of this barbaric attack to swift and certain justice – if the bullet’s going in the opposite direction – (unintelligible).”
In response to the shooting, the Trump administration has now suspended processing all immigration requests from Afghans.
Biden Responds Before Parole Disclosure Emerges
Shortly before news of Lakanwal’s immigration status became public, Biden issued a sympathetic statement on X.
“Jill and I are heartbroken that two members of the National Guard were shot outside the White House,” he wrote.
“Violence of any kind is unacceptable, and we must all stand united against it.
“We are praying for the service members and their families.”
The confirmation that the alleged gunman was admitted under Biden’s Afghan resettlement program, one repeatedly criticized for weakened vetting and rushed processing, is expected to intensify scrutiny of the previous administration’s immigration and parole policies.
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