The White House is facing a security controversy following revelations that the Trump administration approved the asylum request for an Afghan national accused of shooting two National Guard soldiers near the White House. The suspect, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, allegedly opened fire on the soldiers just 800 yards from the presidential residence on Wednesday. Authorities have confirmed that Lakanwal, who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, had fingerprints matching those found at the crime scene. At 29, Lakanwal’s asylum application was reportedly approved by the Trump-era Department of Homeland Security in April this year, as reported by CNN.

Lakanwal initially entered the United States as a refugee in September 2021 under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome. A White House official, speaking to the Daily Mail, indicated that Lakanwal would have remained in the U.S. due to his parole status, regardless of his asylum application. “This Afghan national was paroled into the U.S. by the Biden Administration,” the official stated. “Following that, President Biden enacted a law supporting the parole program and participated in the 2023 Ahmed Court Settlement, which required expedited processing of his asylum claim. Despite his asylum status, his parole, granted under Biden, prevented his removal from the country.”

There have been ongoing tensions over the handling of immigration policies between administrations. Lakanwal traveled from his residence in Bellingham, Washington, a city close to the Canadian border, where he lived with his family. The victims, Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, are in critical condition after undergoing surgery for injuries sustained in the attack, which involved a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver. Former President Donald Trump, in a national address, criticized President Biden and demanded a comprehensive review of all Afghan refugees admitted to the U.S.

CIA director John Ratcliffe revealed that Lakanwal had direct links to the intelligence agency from his work alongside US Special Forces in Afghanistan, where he served as an elite commander. Lakanwal’s ID card identifies him as a commander in Unit 01, an elite force within the former Afghan government’s National Directorate of Security, according to The Telegraph. The Daily Mail has reached out to DHS for comment. The Homeland Security office responsible for reviewing asylum applications is the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Hours after the shooting, the USCIS announced it was indefinitely suspending immigration requests relating to all Afghan nationals ‘pending further review of security and vetting protocols.’ Days before the shooting a bombshell memo, signed by the director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, said the Trump administration plans to initiate a comprehensive review and re-interview of all refugees admitted under Biden. ‘He was flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021, on those infamous flights that everybody was talking about,’ Trump said during his nationwide address.

Intelligence officials have said Lakanwal worked with various entities in the US government, including the CIA, due to his prior experience as a member of a partner force in Kandahar. ‘Nobody knew who was coming in. Nobody knew anything about it. His status was extended under legislation signed by President Biden, a disastrous President, the worst in the history of our country,’ Trump said. ‘If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them. America will never bend and never yield in the face of terror. And at the same time, we will not be deterred from the mission the service members were so nobly fulfilling.’

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who oversaw the office responsible for granting Lakanwal asylum into the country earlier this year, joined Trump in blaming Biden. ‘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 the Biden Administration,’ Noem wrote on X. A motive for the shooting has not been released by law enforcement, but the FBI led by Kash Patel is investigating whether the attack could have links to international terror. US Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s notes during a Thursday briefing mentioned the suspected shooter yelled ‘allahu akbar’ before the attack.