Which U.S. agency handled any detention, removal, or parole matters related to Rahmanullah Lakanwal?
Executive summary
Available reporting says Rahmanullah Lakanwal entered the United States in 2021 via Operation Allies Welcome and later was granted asylum this year, with multiple outlets reporting U.S. immigration or homeland security files and officials were involved in his vetting and resettlement [1] [2] [3]. News coverage also states he was detained by law enforcement after the November 26, 2025, shooting near the White House — local police, the FBI and federal prosecutors are publicly identified in those criminal proceedings [4] [5] [1].
1. Who handled Lakanwal’s initial entry and resettlement: Operation Allies Welcome and federal resettlement partners
Reporting identifies Operation Allies Welcome — the large federal resettlement program created to bring vulnerable Afghans to the U.S. after the withdrawal — as the mechanism through which Lakanwal entered the country in 2021 [1]. Reuters notes that more than 70,000 Afghans were resettled under that effort, which involved multiple federal agencies and nonprofit contractors; the immediate implication in the record is that his initial arrival and placement into the United States flowed through that federal resettlement apparatus [1].
2. Who handled asylum or parole paperwork: government files and reporting say an asylum grant this year
Several outlets report that Lakanwal “was granted asylum this year,” citing U.S. government files or reporting by Reuters and others; The Guardian and NBC News likewise reference asylum having been granted in 2025 according to government documents and sources [3] [6]. Reuters specifically cites a government file that places his asylum decision in 2025 [2]. Available sources do not detail the specific U.S. agency decision-maker line-by-line (e.g., USCIS adjudicator name or precise office), but asylum grants for arrivals under Operation Allies Welcome would be processed through federal immigration channels documented in the cited reporting [1] [2].
3. Who vetted him: government vetting described, agencies named in coverage
News outlets report that Lakanwal was “vetted” by U.S. authorities before entry and that government records indicated he had worked with U.S. partners in Afghanistan and no disqualifying information was found [2]. Multiple pieces cite statements by federal officials about vetting; Reuters quotes FBI Director Kash Patel and the U.S. Attorney expressing views on vetting, and other outlets report that files showed prior checks because of his partnership with U.S. forces in Afghanistan [2] [5]. The reporting names FBI and Department of Justice officials in post-incident briefings, but it does not supply a detailed public chain-of-custody of the vetting files in the sources provided [2] [5].
4. Who detained and is prosecuting him after the shooting: local and federal law enforcement
Coverage of the November 26, 2025, shooting states that Metropolitan Police and federal agents detained Lakanwal at the scene or after the attack and that the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia are publicly involved in the investigation and prosecution [4] [5] [1]. Reuters and The Washington Post describe federal prosecutors and the FBI at press conferences; local reporting notes that police reports and raids followed in Washington state and elsewhere [4] [1].
5. Conflicting political claims and how sources frame responsibility
Political figures and officials have used the case to argue competing narratives about vetting and responsibility. Reuters records that FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro (both named in coverage) criticized previous vetting by the Biden administration, while other reporting notes the asylum grant occurred this year under the Trump administration according to government files — a factual tension that outlets explicitly record [2] [3] [6]. The sources present both the claim that he was vetted and cleared and the political criticism that vetting was inadequate; the reporting does not reconcile the dispute with a single definitive public document in these excerpts [2] [6] [3].
6. What the sources do not say or confirm
Available reporting in the provided sources does not list the exact immigration office, adjudicator, or specific Department of Homeland Security component that signed off on an asylum grant in April 2025, nor does it publish the asylum application record itself in these excerpts [2] [6] [3]. The sources do not provide complete disclosure of all vetting steps or interagency communications that preceded the asylum decision; they cite government files and official statements but stop short of reproducing the primary adjudicative documents [2] [1].
7. Bottom line and caveats for readers
Primary reporting links Lakanwal’s U.S. arrival to Operation Allies Welcome in 2021 and cites government files and media reporting that he was granted asylum in 2025, while the FBI, local police and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are handling detention, investigation and prosecution after the November 26 shooting [1] [2] [5]. Readers should note the explicit political disagreement in coverage about who is to blame for any perceived vetting failures; the publicly cited files and statements in the sources establish the basic administrative facts but do not, in the provided reporting, publish the detailed asylum adjudication paperwork or an exhaustive vetting timeline [2] [3].