What legal process allowed the DC National Guard shooter to receive asylum in the U.S.?
Executive summary
U.S. reporting indicates the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the United States in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome and applied for asylum in 2024; several outlets say his asylum was granted in April 2025, during the Trump administration (Reuters, The Guardian, New York Times, CBS/ABC/others) [1] [2] [3]. Following the Nov. 26, 2025 shooting, the Biden-era and Trump-era vetting histories, the humanitarian-parole entry, and an asylum approval became political flashpoints that prompted the administration to pause asylum decisions and launch reviews of previously approved cases [4] [5].
1. How he got into the country: Operation Allies Welcome, a humanitarian parole route
Lakanwal reportedly arrived in the U.S. in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, a humanitarian parole program used to bring vulnerable Afghans and some U.S. partners into the United States after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan; that program gives temporary entry without immediate permanent status and was organized during the Biden administration [1] [3] [6].
2. The asylum application timeline and approval reported by multiple outlets
Law-enforcement and media reporting says Lakanwal applied for asylum in 2024 and, according to multiple sources, his asylum claim was approved in April 2025 — a decision several outlets report occurred under the Trump administration [3] [2] [1]. Reuters and The Guardian explicitly reported an April 2025 grant of asylum [1] [7]. CBS, ABC and the BBC similarly described an application in 2024 and a grant earlier in 2025 [3] [8].
3. What “granting asylum” means here — what the sources describe (and what they do not)
The sourcing repeats that an asylum application was filed and later approved; outlets cite unnamed officials and people “with knowledge of the case” for the April 2025 approval [2] [3]. Available reporting does not detail the exact legal mechanism used to convert parole into asylum status in Lakanwal’s particular file — for example, whether an affirmative asylum interview and USCIS approval occurred, or whether asylum was conferred through a different adjudicative or administrative procedure; those specifics are not described in the cited articles [2] [1].
4. Vetting layers cited by officials and media — contested and overlapping checks
Reports note that Lakanwal had worked with CIA‑backed Afghan units, which “would have required vetting,” and that U.S. intelligence and immigration authorities had screened him on multiple occasions — in Afghanistan for operational work and again during the U.S. immigration process, according to media summaries of officials’ statements [1] [6]. At the same time, critics and political leaders argued vetting was insufficient, and the shooting immediately became a lever for an expanded immigration crackdown [5] [9].
5. Government response: halted asylum decisions and case reviews
After the shooting, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director announced a pause of asylum decisions “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible,” and the Department of Homeland Security opened reviews of asylum approvals issued under prior administrations; several outlets report the Trump administration also ordered broader reviews of green cards and refugee admissions from certain countries [4] [5] [9].
6. Competing narratives and political uses of the asylum claim
Conservative leaders and the president framed the reported April 2025 asylum grant as evidence of loose immigration policies and used it to justify sweeping measures; refugee advocates and some reporters warned the incident represents an isolated criminal act and cautioned against punishing broad refugee populations [5] [10]. Media sourcing relies heavily on anonymous officials, which leaves space for divergent political interpretations [2] [1].
7. Limits of the public record in these sources
The published reporting establishes arrival under Operation Allies Welcome in 2021, an asylum application in 2024, and multiple outlets saying asylum was granted in April 2025 — but the sources do not provide the detailed adjudicative record (case file, USCIS decision text, or court filings) explaining exactly which procedural steps produced the asylum grant in this individual case. Available sources do not mention the full legal paperwork or the specific adjudicator’s reasoning that led to the April 2025 outcome [3] [2] [1].
Conclusion: Reporting from Reuters, The Guardian, The New York Times and other outlets consistently states Lakanwal arrived via Operation Allies Welcome in 2021, applied for asylum in 2024, and — according to multiple officials quoted by media — was granted asylum in April 2025; that reported timeline is the basis for the claim that his asylum was approved under the Trump administration, and it has driven the subsequent administrative moratoria and reviews [1] [2] [4].