President Donald Trump blamed his predecessor on Wednesday for letting the suspected gunman linked to the National Guard shooting in Washington, D.C., enter the United States four years ago.
The suspect has been identified as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who reportedly arrived in the U.S. under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome. The operation was established following the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
Trump criticized former President Joe Biden for overseeing the post-Afghanistan immigration policy.
“He was flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021 on those infamous flights that everybody was talking about,” Trump said in a televised address from West Palm Beach, Florida. He was not present at the White House when the shooting occurred shortly after 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
“Nobody knew who was coming in. Nobody knew anything about it,” the president added. “His status was extended under legislation signed by President Biden, a disastrous president, the worst in the history of our country.”
Lakanwal overstayed his visa, which reportedly expired in September this year. His last address was recorded in Washington state.
Without naming the suspect, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed he was an Afghan national who took advantage of Biden’s lax immigration policy.
“The suspect who shot our brave National Guardsmen is an Afghan national who was one of the many unvetted, mass paroled into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome on September 8, 2021, under the Biden Administration,” she wrote on X. “I will not utter this depraved individual’s name. He should be starved of the glory he so desperately wants.”
In his speech, Trump said Wednesday’s shooting “underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation,” addressing the Biden administration’s admission of illegal immigrants.
He then cited Minnesota as an example of a state that has been too lenient in letting in foreigners, particularly Somali nationals.
“Gangs of Somalians come from a country that doesn’t even have a government — no laws, no water, no military, no nothing — as their representatives in our country preach to us about our Constitution and how our country is no good,” he said, seemingly referencing Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who was born in Somalia.
Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the U.S., with estimates as high as 80,000 people.
Trump went on to say the U.S. won’t tolerate assaults on law enforcement by illegal immigrants.
“We must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden, and we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here or add benefit to our country,” he continued. “If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them.”
Following Trump’s lead, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services halted all immigration requests coming from Afghanistan.
“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols,” the agency said in a statement. “The protections and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission.”
SUSPECTED GUNMAN IN DC NATIONAL GUARD SHOOTING IDENTIFIED AS AFGHAN NATIONAL
Hours earlier, the suspected gunman fired shots at two West Virginia National Guard members with a handgun near the White House. The wounded suspect was swiftly apprehended, and the two troops remain in critical condition as they receive medical treatment at a local hospital.
The motive for the attack remains unclear, but officials have described the incident as a “targeted shooting” aimed at the National Guard. Steven Nordhaus, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, is traveling from Guantanamo Bay to Washington, D.C., to be present with troops in the aftermath of the shooting.
