Kristi Noem, the US homeland security secretary, has said the suspect in a recent national guard shooting in Washington DC was “radicalised” after arriving in the United States. Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Noem blamed the Biden administration for the attack, despite the suspect’s asylum having been approved under the Trump administration.
The suspect, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was granted asylum in April under the Trump administration. He entered the US in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, having previously worked with CIA-backed units in Afghanistan. Noem said: “We believe he was radicalised since he’s been here in this country… through connections in his home community and state.”
The Trump administration has used the shooting to justify halting and reviewing asylum and green card applications. President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that his administration could pause asylum admissions “for a long time”. Noem claimed that vetting procedures were “completely abandoned” under Joe Biden, though she acknowledged that the vetting took place during the Biden administration.
Noem also defended her decision to continue deportation flights to El Salvador despite a court order, describing the judge as “activist” and “radical”. The Department of Justice argued the flights did not violate the order because the detainees were no longer in US territory. US district judge James Boasberg is conducting a contempt inquiry into whether the Trump administration defied his March order.
