What we know about the process of arrival and migration of the national guard shooting suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal
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This page shooting Two security guards in Washington, DC, last week sparked a national debate about US immigration policy. Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
The Trump administration paid for this attack, which killed one of the soldiers, to promote its crackdown on mass migration. The administration has halted all visa and immigration processing for Afghan nationals, and has ordered a review of green card cases for immigrants from 19 frozen countries.
Lakanwal’s exact intentions remain unclear. Over the weekend, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem suggested He could have been “rooted” after it came to the US emails obtained by CBS News also show that Lakanwal’s mental health deterioration In recent years, he became isolated and shunned from his family.
Trump administration officials have blamed the handling of the bid to allow Lakanwal to enter the US in 2021, and critics of President Trump have faulted his asylum claim earlier this year. But the review of the Lakanwal immigration case, based on interviews with us US officials and other official sources, shows several opportunities for federal authorities, under management, to Vet Lakanwal and identify any relevant information.
This is what we know about the immigration process of Lakanwal endeWrent to enter the US and try to stay here permanently.
September 2021: Lakanwal arrives in the US
Lakanwal entered the US in September 2021 as part of ‘Operational Operations Accepted,’ a bid-led effort to repatriate tens of thousands of Afghanis from Afghanistan and the Taliban.
US authorities familiar with his case told CBB news that Lakakwal was granted parole. Government figures show amnesty was granted to more than 77,000 people who were allowed to stay and work in the country legally for a two-year extension. The amnesty was designed to balance the suspension while the miners applied for permanent forms of legal status, such as asylum or special arrival visas for those helping the American war effort.
All Afghan refugees had to receive a first round of military bases in Italy, Germany, Qatar, Spain and the United Arab Emirates before gaining access to USOVO. After arriving in the US, many of the American immigrants live on US military bases in several states before settling in communities across the country.
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in Congress are raising concerns about the vetting process conducted by bid officials during the Afghan Resettlement effort. A 2022 report by the Homeland Security Department of Inspector Generance said the inspection process encountered several problems and that federal officials “did not always have critical data.
December 2024: Lakanwal claims asylum
Lakanwal applied for asylum and US citizenship in December 2024, arguing that he would face persecution if returned to Afghanistan, according to US Afghanistan, according to US Afghanistan, according to US ADGhanistan.
His request would have been another opportunity for the US government to make a case for itself. Usually USCIS requires arlum applicants to show personal interviews to one of its offices around the country.
A DHS official told CBBS News the USCIS ASYLUM Vetting process typically includes a biometric collection, social media activity review, FBI background checks and other background checks. The process also includes asking if the applicant can prove that they will face persecution if they are fired because of one of five factors: Their race, nationality, and religion in a particular political party or membership in a political party. “
In recent years, USCIS has been prioritizing Afghan Asylum claims, processing them faster than other citizenship cases because of the Biden-Era Federal court settlement. Most of the Afghan asylum cases are approved. Government details It shows 20,354 – 96% – 21,201 Afghan asylum applications decided by USCIS from the summer of 2021 to be granted. Only 120 cases were denied at that time.
Two US officials and an ex-Afghan military official told CBS News that Lakanwal was part of the “Zero unit“One of the CIA-backed forces – the Afghan Health and Intelligence-backed forces who get a secret because of their short-term and suspected torture. That job would have made him a target of retaliation by the Taliban.
April 2025: Lakanwal is granted asylum
USCIS approved Asylum’s Lakanwal application in April 2025, giving him – and any close relatives – Asylee status, US officials told CBS News.
While refugee sponsorship is a determination that an applicant meets the legal definition of Refugee, it does not immediately grant permanent legal status to those who benefit. Asylees must submit another application to request a green card, or legal residency status, which they do not receive as soon as one year after the grant of asylum. Two U.S. officials told CBS News that Lakanwal installed the app, known as an adjustment of status request, and that it was pending at the time of the attack.
US law allows the government to terminate an individual’s status in certain circumstances, including when Asylees commit serious crimes or fraud. A DHS official told CBS News that the process requires notifying the asylee of the intent to terminate the status.
Those whose asylum cases are overturned are placed in deportation proceedings before federal immigration judges, who are not normally appointed by the Department of Justice. In Lakanwal’s case, that process may not be completed until after he is sentenced on the criminal charges he faces for last week’s shooting.
