Afghan resettlement program to be scrutinized after shooting, planned bombing of National Guard

The Biden-era "Operation Allies Welcome" program that was designed to help Afghan allies of the U.S. resettle in the U.S. is likely to be scrutinized after the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C.

GOP lawmakers have said they want to examine the program, but it is unclear at this time if a bipartisan special committee in the House or Senate will be established, given that some Democrats are pushing back.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was arrested on Wednesday after gunfire erupted only a few blocks from the White House. He was injured during the incident and taken to the hospital along with U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24. Beckstrom passed away on Thursday.

Lakanwal is charged with three counts of possessing a firearm during a violent crime and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.

Suspect reportedly vetted for resettlement in U.S.

According to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), he had previously worked with the agency and U.S. military forces in Afghanistan during the 20-year war.

In May, the Trump administration formally ended deportation protections for Afghans living in the United States after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Officials argued that conditions in the country, despite Taliban control, had improved enough that the safeguards were no longer necessary.

Afghan immigration on an indefinite pause

Numerous GOP lawmakers are urging tighter restrictions on refugees and a full review of the OAW program.

According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the administration has placed Afghan immigration on an indefinite pause “pending further review of security and vetting protocols.” Trump has also ordered a reassessment of cases involving Afghans who entered under OAW and other post-withdrawal programs, while the State Department has suspended all visa processing for Afghanistan until further notice.

“We must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden,” Trump said Wednesday at Mar-a-Lago. “And we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here or contribute to our country.”

USCIS has also been directed to review green card approvals connected to 19 countries in response to the incident.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., called on Congress to pass his legislation, the “Afghan Vetting Accountability Act," which would require “recurrent and periodic vetting” of evacuees admitted from Afghanistan in 2021-2022, implicitly targeting those admitted under OAW, according to Axios. 

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., and Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, have called for broad deportations of “Islamist” migrants in the wake of the shooting.

Dems call reviews "harassment"

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a stout anti-Trump "resistance" Democrat, argued that the Trump administration is “harassing” Afghan refugees after the shooting. 

“Going after a large group of people, most of whom I think are just trying to live their lives, raise their families, go to work every day, the U.S. government harassing them years later does not make a lot of sense to me,” Kelly said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Addressing the recent shooting, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said on Sunday that "we should always review our vetting" of refugees “but in this case, there’s no evidence that there was something that escaped the vetting.”