The shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C., last week has sparked a national debate about U.S. immigration policy and whether the federal government missed any red flags about the alleged attacker, identified by authorities as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
The Trump administration has cited the attack, which killed one of the soldiers, to further expand its government-wide immigration crackdown. The administration has halted all visa and immigration processing for Afghan nationals, ordered a review of green card cases for immigrants from 19 countries and frozen all asylum case decisions.
Lakanwal’s exact motives remain unclear. Over the weekend, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem suggested he could have “radicalized” after coming to the U.S. Emails obtained by CBS News also indicate that Lakanwal’s mental health deteriorated in recent years, and that he became isolated and detached from his family.
Trump administration officials have blamed the Biden administration for allowing Lakanwal to enter the U.S. in 2021, while critics of President Trump have faulted his government for approving his asylum case earlier this year. But a review of Lakanwal’s immigration case, based on conversations with U.S. officials and other official sources, shows there were several opportunities for federal authorities, under both administrations, to vet Lakanwal and identify any potentially concerning information.
This is what we know about the immigration process Lakanwal underwent to enter the U.S. and to try to remain here permanently.
September 2021: Lakanwal arrives in the U.S.
Lakanwal entered the U.S. in September 2021 as part of “Operation Allies Welcome,” the Biden administration’s effort to resettle tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees airlifted from Kabul following the chaotic American military withdrawal and Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
U.S. officials familiar with his case told CBS News that Lakanwal was granted humanitarian parole. Government statistics show parole was offered to more than 77,000 evacuees so they could live and work in the country legally for two-year increments. Parole was designed to be a stopgap measure while the evacuees applied for permanent forms of legal status, such as asylum or Special Immigrant Visas for those who assisted the American war effort.
All Afghan evacuees were supposed to undergo an initial round of vetting at military bases in Italy, Germany, Qatar, Spain and the United Arab Emirates before being allowed to enter the U.S. Those who raised security concerns were sent to Kosovo. After arriving in the U.S., many evacuees were housed in American military bases in several states before settling in communities throughout the country.
At the time, Republican lawmakers in Congress raised concerns about the vetting process undertaken by the Biden administration during the Afghan resettlement effort. A 2022 report by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General said the screening process encountered several obstacles and that some federal officials “did not always have critical data” to properly vet the evacuees.
December 2024: Lakanwal requests asylum
Lakanwal applied for asylum with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in December 2024, arguing he would face persecution if returned to Afghanistan, according to U.S. officials who requested anonymity to discuss internal government information.
His application would have been another opportunity for the U.S. government to vet his case. USCIS generally requires asylum applicants to show up to in-person interviews at one of its offices across the country.
A DHS official told CBS News the USCIS asylum vetting process generally involves the collection of biometrics, a review of social media activity, FBI background checks and other screenings. The process also includes an inquiry into whether the applicant can prove he or she would face persecution if deported because of one of five factors: their race, nationality, religion, political opinion or membership in a “particular social group.”
In recent years, USCIS has been prioritizing Afghan asylum claims, processing them faster than the cases of other nationalities due to a Biden-era federal court settlement. The vast majority of Afghan asylum cases are approved. Government data shows 20,354 — 96% — of 21,201 Afghan asylum requests decided by USCIS since the summer of 2021 were granted. Only 120 cases were denied during that time.
Two U.S. officials and an ex-Afghan military official told CBS News that Lakanwal was part of a “Zero Unit,” one of a number of CIA-backed forces in the former Afghan government’s military and intelligence apparatus that gained infamy for their secrecy and alleged brutality. That work could have made him a target for reprisals by the Taliban.
April 2025: Lakanwal is granted asylum
USCIS approved Lakanwal’s asylum application in April 2025, granting him — and any derivative immediate relatives — asylee status, U.S. officials told CBS News.
While a grant of asylum is a determination that the applicant meets the legal definition of a refugee, it does not immediately bestow permanent legal status to the beneficiary. Asylees have to submit another application to request a green card, or lawful permanent resident status, which they can receive no sooner than one year after the grant of asylum. Two U.S. officials told CBS News that Lakanwal filed that application, known as an adjustment of status request, and that it was pending at the time of the attack.
U.S. law allows the government to terminate someone’s asylum status in certain circumstances, including when asylees commit serious crimes or fraud. A DHS official told CBS News that process requires USCIS to notify the asylee of the intent to terminate the status.
Those whose asylum status is revoked are placed in deportation proceedings before federal immigration judges, who are overseen by the Justice Department. In Lakanwal’s case, that process would likely not be finalized until after the adjudication of the criminal charges he faces because of last week’s shooting.