Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday placed responsibility on the Biden administration for allowing Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal into the U.S. before he allegedly shot two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., last week.
Noem said the suspect entered the country during what she described as President Joe Biden's "abandonment" of Afghanistan in 2021 and the rushed, poorly executed vetting that followed.
In back-to-back Sunday morning interviews, Noem argued the Biden administration's withdrawal left U.S. officials unable to properly screen tens of thousands of evacuees flown out during the chaotic final days of America's presence in Kabul.
"You need to remember that when this abandonment of Afghanistan happened, the Biden administration put people on airplanes, brought them to the United States without vetting them," Noem said. "They brought them into our country and said they would vet them afterwards."
According to Noem, effective screening was impossible at the time because the Afghan government had collapsed.
With no functioning government, she said, U.S. authorities had no way to obtain the records typically required to confirm a person's identity — background documentation, service history, biometric data, or any reliable verification tools.
"You have to have a stable government that can give you information," she said. "All of that vetting information was collected by Joe Biden's administration that was used in the process."
Noem said Lakanwal arrived through Operation Allies Welcome, the program launched by Biden to bring Afghans to safety following the withdrawal. She claims he was "unvetted" upon entry and screened only afterward, "but not done well based on what the guidelines were put forward by President Biden."
She warned that admitting individuals from unstable nations without full identity confirmation creates dangerous gaps in U.S. security.
"For these individuals, when they are brought into our country, it's a dangerous situation," Noem said. "If you don't know who they are, if they are coming from a country that's not stable and doesn't have a government that can help you vet them, then we shouldn't allow it."
Noem contrasted Biden's withdrawal-era policies with what she described as the Trump administration's strengthened vetting practices.
She said current procedures now include deep reviews of social media activity, digital contacts, and expanded biometric collection before anyone is allowed into the U.S.
"Now when we vet individuals under this administration, we know who they are and why they are here," Noem said. "Unfortunately, this individual — his entire process happened under Joe Biden's watch."
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