Trump says Biden let National Guard killer into US, but docs show he signed the asylum papers. All deets inside

Hours after the tragic National Guard shooting near the White House on Wednesday (Nov 26), US President Donald Trump was quick to blame his predecessor Joe Biden's administration, saying that the suspect came to the US in 2021 "on those infamous flights". However, reports now suggest that the shooter, identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was actually granted US asylum under the Trump administration.

Trump blames Biden

The US President along with his FBI, CIA and Homeland Security heads, along with other senior appointees all sought to blame Biden. They insisted that Lakanwal had been granted unvetted access to the United States because of lax asylum policies in the wake of the chaotic final US withdrawal from Afghanistan under the Biden administration. However, the truth is far from that.

Who allowed Lakanwal into the US?

According to AfghanEvac, a group that helped resettle Afghans in the United States after the military withdrawal, all the evacuees undergo "some of the most extensive security vetting" of any migrants. It noted that Lakanwal was not granted asylum under the Biden admin but was given the approval in April 2025, under the Trump administration. AfghanEvac also noted that Lakanwal would have been eligible to request permanent residency in April 2026, a year after getting the asylum.

The suspect, identified by law enforcement sources as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, reportedly fled Afghanistan during the Taliban takeover in 2021. CNN said his fingerprints matched an asylum applicant of the same name. The information was also confirmed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem who in a social media post refused to "utter this depraved individual's name," saying, "he should be starved of the glory he so desperately wants" confirmed the gunman arrived in the US on September 8, 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome.