Biden Admin ‘Barely Vetted’ Afghan Terror Suspect Accused Of Shooting National Guard Troops In D.C.

The Biden administration “barely vetted” the Afghan migrant accused of shooting two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C. last week, a Homeland Security official revealed Tuesday.

The alleged shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, didn’t undergo multiple standard background checks after he arrived in the United States in 2021 as part of the Biden administration’s “Operation Allies Welcome” program that brought over 77,000 individuals from the war-torn nation following the botched withdrawal of American troops, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News host John Roberts.

The Biden administration allowed Lakanwal into the U.S. because of his past work with federal agencies operating in Afghanistan, including the CIA, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe revealed last week. He received asylum in April, according to CBS News.

“We saw with this terrorist here, he was barely vetted, there was no biometric vetting, there was no criminal background check, cyber background check, financial background check. Really, they took some people and they just took them at their word, that’s a huge problem,” McLaughlin said.

“And it really can’t be overstated what the Biden administration did to this country in putting it in danger. So, I would say absolutely the vetting process is an issue, but these countries of origin too,” McLaughlin added.

The damage that the Biden administration did to this country cannot be overstated.

President Trump and Secretary Noem are putting an end to the reckless policies that allowed millions of illegal aliens and foreigners into our country unvetted. The vetting process will now… pic.twitter.com/wRC6hi377D

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) December 2, 2025

The federal government halted asylum decisions and stopped issuing visas to Afghans. On Tuesday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued new guidance to pause the processing of all immigration applications for individuals from 19 “high risk countries.”

The targets of the halt include Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela, countries that were subject to travel restrictions enacted in June.