National Guard Shooting Suspect Came From Afghanistan Through Biden Program

The Federalist

Two National Guardsmen were shot and critically injured in Washington, D.C., when a suspect, identified as an Afghan national let in through a Biden-era program allegedly ambushed them Wednesday.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin reported the suspect in custody “is an Afghan national who entered the U.S. on 9/8/2021 as part of the Biden admin’s Operation Allies Welcome in the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.”

Melugin reported that the suspect’s “permission to be in the U.S. expired in September of this year, and he is now in the country illegally.”

The Department of Homeland Security inspector general released a report in 2022 finding the agency did not properly “screen, vet, and inspect all Afghan evacuees arriving as part of Operation Allies Refuge (OAR)/Operation Allies Welcome (OAW).”

After the disastrous and deadly Afghanistan withdrawal, the Biden administration decided to import thousands of incompatible foreigners into the country. As The Federalist CEO and co-founder Sean Davis wrote for The American Mind, “The solution for failing to export American democracy to Afghanistan, you see, is to import Afghanistan into America.”

Davis pointed out the “moral blackmail” taking place at the time: “Are you concerned that people posing as refugees might be terrorists intent on killing Americans on U.S. soil? You’re a racist. Are you worried that the same government and immigration system that allowed the 19 9/11 hijackers entry to the U.S. might not be competent to judge who is and who is not a security threat? You’re a xenophobe.”

And Davis’ concerns were later proved valid, as the DHS inspector general report found that “U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) did not always have critical data to properly screen, vet, or inspect the evacuees.”

“We determined some information used to vet evacuees through U.S. Government databases, such as name, date of birth, identification number, and travel document data, was inaccurate, incomplete, or missing. We also determined CBP admitted or paroled evacuees who were not fully vetted into the United States.”

The report concedes the government may have “paroled individuals into the United States who pose a risk to national security and the safety of local communities.”

According to a press release from Sen. Chuck Grassley, more than 97,000 individuals designated as evacuees came into the country following the chaotic 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal under Biden, approximately 77,000 of whom were admitted through Operation Allies Welcome, which grants entry to the United States via humanitarian parole, as The Federalist reported. 

Notably, then White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in September of 2021: “I can absolutely assure you that no one is coming into the United States of America who has not been through a thorough screening and background check process.”

Meanwhile a 2022 letter from Sens. Josh Hawley and Ron Johnson suggested that “‘324 individuals evacuated from Afghanistan were allowed to enter the United States, despite appearing on the DoD’s Biometrically Enabled Watchlist,’ which identifies people determined to be ‘threats or potential threats to national security, including known suspected terrorists.’” Then-FBI Director Christopher Wray later testified that there were “a number of individuals through our joint terrorism task forces that we are actively trying to investigate.”

Notably, the Department of Defense reported in February of 2022 that “‘50 Afghan personnel in the United States’ had been identified who had ‘information in DoD records that would indicate potentially significant security concerns.’”

America First Legal further revealed last August that newly obtained documents proved the Biden-Harris administration lied when it “claimed that they were importing refugees who helped the U.S. gov[ernmen]t.”

In order to bring in thousands of foreign nationals, the administration abused the “parole” authority by arguing the foreign nationals needed admittance due to an “urgent humanitarian reason” or “significant public benefit,” according to America First Legal.

Notably an Afghan national was arrested last October for allegedly plotting an Election Day massacre. The 27-year-old, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, worked as a security guard for the CIA in Afghanistan. Tawhedi entered the U.S. in September 2021 on “a special immigrant visa,” but NBC News reported that he was brought in via humanitarian parole, a designation that involves less scrutiny.