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Authorities believe the Afghan immigrant accused of attacking National Guard members in Washington, D.C., last week was radicalized after arriving in the U.S., Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Sunday.
Law enforcement officials identified Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, as the suspect in the Wednesday shooting that occurred just blocks from the White House, killing one National Guard member and critically injuring another.
“We believe he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country,” Noem told NBC News. “We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state, and we’re going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him, who were his family members.”
She added that U.S. officials have received “some participation” from individuals who knew Lakanwal.
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Lakanwal entered the U.S. legally in 2021 under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome, a program that evacuated and resettled Afghan refugees as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.
Noem said that although asylum was formally granted to Lakanwal during the Trump administration in April, the vetting process all happened under the Biden administration, criticizing what she described as inadequate screening of Afghans and other foreign nationals during former President Joe Biden’s term.
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“When this abandonment of Afghanistan happened, the Biden administration put people on airplanes [and] brought them to the United States without vetting them,” Noem said. “They brought them into our country and then said they would vet them afterward.”
“All of that vetting information was collected by Joe Biden’s administration,” she added. “Joe Biden completely did not vet any of these individuals.”
According to Noem, President Donald Trump has since implemented measures to strengthen vetting for incoming immigrants, including reviewing social media activity and checking on who they interact with.
After the devastating attack on Thanksgiving eve, Trump also announced that his administration will impose additional restrictions on migrants seeking to enter the United States, including a halt on all immigration from what he described as “Third World Countries.”
“The President is absolutely determined to stop all processes at this point in time from third-world countries until we can have a thorough opportunity to go through these individuals,” Noem said on Sunday.
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