The fatal shooting of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, 20, near the White House on November 26 has renewed scrutiny of the 2021 Afghan evacuation program that allowed suspected gunman Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, to enter the United States despite documented federal failures in screening and identity verification.
Lakanwal, who allegedly drove cross-country from Bellingham, Washington, before opening fire with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver, was one of the more than 79,000 Afghan evacuees brought to the United States under Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) following the fall of Kabul.
Federal Audit Found Major Breakdowns in Screening and Identity Verification
A 2022 DHS Office of Inspector General audit found that the U.S. government “did not always have critical data to properly screen, vet, or inspect Afghan evacuees,” including missing names, incorrect birthdates, invalid document numbers, and incomplete biographic information.
Among the findings:
- 88,977 records in CBP’s system contained questionable or incomplete biographic data, including thousands of evacuees recorded with the placeholder date of birth “January 1.”
- CBP admitted or paroled evacuees “who were not fully vetted” and lacked reliable identity documentation.
- DHS had no contingency plan for evacuees without identification, despite knowing many would arrive without documents due to the collapse of the Afghan government.
- The department “may have admitted or paroled individuals into the United States who pose a risk to national security and the safety of local communities.”
Officials told auditors that evacuees frequently did not know their exact birthdates, spoke little English, and arrived without documentation, creating widespread errors in U.S. databases.
The report also noted that CBP sometimes relied on photos of handwritten flight manifests to enter traveler information, which introduced additional errors during the emergency evacuation process.
Known Security Concerns Among Evacuees
The OIG separately confirmed that at least two evacuees with national security concerns were allowed into the United States. In one case, CBP paroled an individual who had been freed from an Afghan prison by the Taliban just weeks earlier. He was not flagged until weeks after arrival and was later removed from the country.
Another evacuee, later identified as posing a national security concern, remained in the U.S. for months before derogatory information surfaced.
Lakanwal Not the Only Afghan Evacuee Later Accused of Violence or Terror Offenses
Lakanwal is not the only Afghan evacuee linked to serious criminal or terrorism-related allegations.
In October 2024, federal agents arrested Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, an Afghan evacuee airlifted during the 2021 withdrawal, for an alleged ISIS-inspired Election Day mass-casualty plot.
According to court records, Tawhedi previously worked as an outside guard for a CIA facility but maintained communication with ISIS operatives and was planning an attack alongside a juvenile co-conspirator.
U.S. officials initially claimed Tawhedi was vetted “thoroughly,” but later acknowledged that he was not vetted through the procedures previously described publicly, and that several layers of the claimed screening never occurred.
How OAW Screening Was Designed — and Where It Failed
According to DHS’ official description of Operation Allies Welcome, evacuees were supposed to undergo:
- biometric screening (fingerprints and photographs)
- biographic screening
- database queries across DHS, DOD, FBI, and intelligence systems
- pre-departure flight manifest vetting
- CBP primary and secondary inspection upon arrival
- additional vetting at U.S. military safe-haven bases
But the OIG audit found that:
- The process was inconsistent, ad hoc, and not governed by formal written policies during the first months of the evacuation.
- DHS lacked a complete list of evacuees who arrived without identification, making retrospective screening difficult.
- Biometric enrollment was incomplete: 1,299 evacuees arrived without fingerprints taken prior to travel.
The audit concluded DHS “cannot be sure” all evacuees were properly vetted.
Growing Political Pressure After Beckstrom’s Death
Following the attack, President Donald Trump issued a sweeping statement on X announcing a “permanent pause” on migration from what he described as “Third World Countries,” citing national security concerns.
Trump pledged to reverse “millions of Biden illegal admissions,” denaturalize individuals who “undermine domestic tranquility,” and deport any foreign national who is “a public charge, a security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
Federal officials have not yet disclosed whether Lakanwal avoided screening entirely or passed through the flawed systems documented in the DHS audit.
The investigation into the attack remains ongoing.