Dc National guard shooter was granted asylum under what’s president
Executive summary
Multiple major outlets reporting on the Nov. 26, 2025, shooting say the suspect, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was granted asylum in April 2025 — after the Trump inauguration — and that he entered the U.S. in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome [1] [2] [3]. News organizations and official statements prompted the Trump administration to halt asylum decisions and open reviews of Biden-era approvals following the attack [4] [5] [6].
1. What the record of asylum says — dates and who reported them
News organizations including Reuters, The Guardian and The New York Times report that Lakanwal applied for asylum in December 2024 and that his asylum application was approved on April 23, 2025 — three months after President Donald Trump took office — meaning the grant occurred under the Trump administration [2] [3] [7]. The Guardian and Reuters specifically note that major outlets reported the asylum approval in April 2025 [1] [2].
2. How the suspect came to the United States: Operation Allies Welcome context
Reporting says Lakanwal entered the United States on humanitarian parole in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, the program used to resettle Afghans who worked with U.S. partners after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan [1] [8]. Sources also report he had been vetted earlier because of work with U.S.-backed units in Afghanistan [2] [1].
3. Conflicting political claims and how officials responded
After the shooting, the Trump White House and immigration officials used the incident to justify sweeping immigration reviews and policy changes: USCIS halted all asylum decisions, and DHS announced reviews of asylum approvals made under the Biden administration and of green cards for nationals of certain countries [4] [5] [6]. At the same time, some Trump administration officials publicly blamed prior policies for admitting the suspect despite reporting that the asylum grant occurred in April 2025 under Trump [2] [4].
4. How media and fact-checkers framed the viral claim
Fact-checking sites and mainstream outlets documented circulation of claims that the suspect had been granted asylum “by the Trump administration” and traced reporting that his asylum approval date was April 2025 [9] [2]. Snopes and others noted viral posts that presented the asylum grant as a political attack line; major news organizations independently reported the April 2025 approval [9] [2].
5. Vetting and intelligence ties reported by sources
Reuters, The Guardian and other outlets reported that government files said Lakanwal had been vetted because of his work with U.S. government partners during the Afghanistan war and that authorities found no disqualifying information at those checks [2] [1]. Some reporting also emphasizes that asylum applicants can undergo additional vetting when they apply, and that prior parole under Operation Allies Welcome is distinct from an asylum grant [8] [2].
6. Policy consequences invoked by the administration
Following the shooting, the Trump administration moved quickly to pause asylum decisions and suspend certain visa processing — actions officials described as a direct policy response to the attack [4] [10] [6]. Reuters and CNN say the administration ordered reviews of thousands of asylum approvals and green cards tied to a list of “countries of concern,” including Afghanistan [5] [4].
7. Limitations in public reporting and remaining unknowns
Available sources consistently report the April 2025 asylum approval but rely on government files and anonymous officials for some details; sources do not provide the full adjudication file in public reporting, and they note that formal criminal charges and full immigration records were not immediately available in every outlet [7] [2] [3]. Available sources do not mention a complete public transcript from the asylum adjudication or the redacted case file.
8. Competing narratives and implicit political agendas
Reporting reveals competing political spins: administration officials used the case to argue for tougher immigration vetting even while their statement that the suspect was granted asylum under their watch undercuts attempts to place blame solely on prior administrations [4] [2]. Fact-checkers documented how the claim circulated online as a partisan cudgel; news outlets presented the April date as a factual anchor while describing policy reactions [9] [2].
Bottom line: multiple mainstream outlets and government sources say Lakanwal’s asylum was approved in April 2025 — after Trump took office — and his arrival to the U.S. traces to Operation Allies Welcome in 2021; the shooting triggered an immediate suspension and review of asylum decisions by the Trump administration [2] [1] [4].