Patel Rips Biden Over Unserious Afghan ‘Vetting’ After Guard Attack
FBI Director Kash Patel delivered a blistering rebuke of the Biden administration’s immigration failures, calling the Nov. 26 shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., “the emblematic failure of the Biden administration” during an appearance on The Ingraham Angle.
On Tuesday, the Justice Department announced formal charges against Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, filing four counts, including murder, in connection with the attack.
“The problem with this case shows the emblematic failure of the Biden administration to vet anyone who came here from Afghanistan after the disastrous withdrawal,” Patel told host Laura Ingraham.
The shooting left one Guardsman dead and another critically injured. 24-year-old U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe of the West Virginia National Guard remains hospitalized, while 20-year-old U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, also of the West Virginia Guard, tragically succumbed to her injuries.
According to the Justice Department, Lakanwal is hospitalized under armed guard. A D.C. Superior Court judge ordered him held without bond, Fox reported.
The attack has reignited scrutiny of the Biden-era Afghan refugee program, which critics say was rushed, sloppy, and politically driven. A Sept. 6, 2022 report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General revealed that “U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) did not always have critical data to properly screen, vet, or inspect the [Afghan] evacuees.”
Patel said the FBI is now working to determine how and when Lakanwal became “radicalized.”
“This is a sprawling international terrorism investigation that the FBI is leading out on,” he said.
“I’ve already issued dozens of pieces of legal processes, dozens of devices, already hit two houses and interviewed many individuals associated with the subject, and that investigation is going to continue on to anyone and everyone this person ever spoke to,” Patel continued. “We are not going to leave any stone unturned.”
Patel also pledged a comprehensive security sweep of foreign nationals in the country: “every single person that came in here — legally or illegally or otherwise — and make sure there is no derogatory or criminal information or terrorist ties.”
On Monday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced a sweeping overhaul of migrant vetting procedures in response to the attack.
“We are requiring the country of origin to cross-reference biometric data and criminal history, expanding our vetting to include social media screening, and directing individuals to check-in every year,” Noem wrote on X.
Noem also revealed she had spoken directly with President Donald Trump, adding that she recommended “a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed to the BBC that a finalized list of affected countries will be released soon.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that President Trump already reinstated a travel ban months earlier targeting “third world and failed state” nations, and that Noem’s proposal would expand its reach.
Back on June 4, the White House identified 19 countries, primarily in Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean, that would face full or partial immigration restrictions. CBS News reports that Noem’s proposed additions could raise that number to around 30 countries.
In the wake of the shooting, all asylum decisions were paused, with USCIS Director Joseph Edlow declaring the halt would remain “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”
President Trump escalated the debate further in his Thanksgiving message, warning he would “permanently pause migration” from all “third world countries.” In his post, Trump said refugees are driving “social dysfunction in America” and vowed to remove “anyone who is not a net asset” to the United States — echoing long-standing U.S. immigration standards from the early 20th century.