The Fallout From the National Guard Shooting

From The New York Times, I'm Michael. Barbaro. This is The Daily. [Music]. Heartbreak over the holidays. One of the. two National Guard members shot in the. ambush attack near the White House has. passed away. Now, the suspect In the. days since an immigrant from Afghanistan. gunned down two members of the National. Guard in Washington, D.C. >> to that shooting, President Trump is. ordering a review of all Afghan. nationals in the US and halting He says. he has halted all asylum decisions after.

the ambush attack on the two National. Guard members. President Trump has. ordered a sweeping new crackdown on. immigration. He's also promising to. expel millions of immigrants already. here, revoking their legal status. That. has left almost no corner of the system. untouched. He claimed he's ready to. expel anyone who is, {quote}, "not a net. asset to the United States." And he. threatened to end immigration from, {quote}, "all third world countries.". Today.

My colleague, Hamid Al-Azizi, on the. shooter's journey to the United States. and the Trump administration's. wide-ranging response. [Music]. [Applause]. It's Monday, December 1st. [Music]. Hamid, we are turning to you because.

what began as a horrific shooting in. downtown Washington last week has now. become a set of far-reaching changes to. the US immigration system, which you. cover for the times. Just how far-reaching would you say. these changes are? Yeah, you know, even for an. administration that has. rewritten all the rules on how to handle. immigration, what we've seen in just the. last couple days has been remarkable.

They have blocked pathways for people to. come to this country, to remain in the. country, and at the same time are going. back and reviewing the records. of people who are have already gained. status in the United States. I haven't. seen anything like this during my time. covering immigration. That fallout, which we will discuss in. detail in this conversation, because it. very much feels like a template for the. future of immigration policy in the US. It feels like it very much hinges on the.

specific of who the shooter in this case. was, where he came from, the circumstances of how he came into. the US. So, let's talk about that. Yeah, the shooter's name is Rahmanullah. Lakhanwal. He grew up in Afghanistan during this. time period in which the United States. had invaded, you know, in fact, he was. only 5 years old when 9/11 happened, and. of course, we know that the United. States came into Afghanistan shortly.

afterward. During that time, the United States. relied heavily on. local troops, and one of the key groups. that was essential to the United States. presence in Afghanistan was this group. called Zero Unit. Zero Unit, what is. that? They were basically a CIA-backed. group that hunted Taliban members, were. really highly trained, highly vetted by.

the US government, essentially reported. to the US government, and went after key. leaders in the Taliban power structure. Kind of the tip of the spear when it. comes to the US government and military. in Afghanistan. Exactly. And and Mr. Lakhanwal was a part of that group. He. was recruited by the CIA to join this. unit, and his brother was a key leader. in the group as well. So, as a family,

you know, they were really enmeshed in. this organization that was essential to. the United States' ability to maintain. security in Afghanistan. But human. rights organizations. criticized the work of this Zero Unit. group. They alleged that Zero Unit went further. than was necessary, and they called them. death squads. They were conducting. extrajudicial killings,

killing civilians. These are all. allegations that were made during this. time about this group. And how comfortable were people like. Lakhanwal, Afghans, in carrying out this kind of alleged. brutality against. other Afghans? Yeah, what we've learned is that Mr. Lakhanwal, specifically, really. struggled with the actions that his. group undertook in Afghanistan.

And he expressed this to a friend in. Afghanistan who actually spoke with one. of our colleagues, and this friend said. that Mr. Lakhanwal was going through. some mental health issues. And really, in his telling, this was clearly. somebody who was traumatized from his. experience as a part of Zero Unit. But despite that, he remained in this. unit up until the Taliban took over the.

country in 2021. Well, bring us to that. very dramatic. moment. What happens to Lakhanwal when. the US announces it's going to withdraw, which, as we all. remember, then. brings the Taliban. through the country toward Kabul. The. Afghan military. collapses in days, and the US military. flees in what I think we can all agree.

is. a kind of chaotic and somewhat. humiliating withdrawal. For Lakhanwal and other Afghans who. closely helped the United States. government, suddenly they become. targets for the Taliban, and there's. this incredible pressure on the Biden. administration to not leave behind those. people who risked their lives in. protecting the United States government. Essentially, they are traitors to the.

now re-empowered Taliban. Yeah, and Mr. Lakhanwal, along with other members of. the Zero Unit, were among the first. people to flee Afghanistan and be. brought by the United States government. to America for protection. So, he's. brought to the United States by the. Biden administration. What are his. circumstances like, and what kind of. vetting process occurs before he even. gets to the US?

So, he comes to the United States as. part of a program called Operation. Allies Welcome. And as part of this program that the. Biden administration set up layers of. vetting. They collected biometrics from. these people, and they ran their. information through US databases for any. potential. terrorism hits, criminal hits, any. potentially derogatory information. And then, when these individuals came to.

the United States, the Department of Homeland Security. conducted another layer of vetting by. Customs and Border Protection officers. at the airports. So, pretty rigorous. Pretty rigorous, but at the same time, I. think it's important to note that the. agency's Inspector General found that. the Biden administration had allowed two. people who were potential national. security threats to enter the country. despite that vetting. This was a really. hurried process. This wasn't something.

that was planned years in the making, months in the making. So, there were. clear issues with this program. Um, and Mr. Lakhanwal comes really. quickly as as one of the first groups of. people to arrive in the United States as. part of this program in September 2021. He settles down in Bellingham, Washington, a town that's near the. Canadian border, and he's trying to find. jobs there. He's a delivery driver.

He's staying with his. wife and five children in a apartment. complex that is a place where people who. are down on their luck are trying to. rebuild their lives. But despite this kind of challenging. circumstances for him, in April, during the Trump administration, he. gains asylum. So, he enters the US under. the Biden administration, but he is. officially granted asylum under the.

Trump administration. Yeah, you know, the Biden administration. brought these people over from. Afghanistan under a power known as. parole. This is a temporary status that only. lasts a few years. It did not provide these Afghans with a. chance to stay in the country. permanently. That was on Afghans. individually in the country to figure. out a way to stay here. And in this. case, he figured it out. Yeah, this was.

clearly good news for him to get asylum, to have a chance to remain in the United. States, to gain a green card, to gain US. citizenship. He was on that pathway. But the next thing we know is that he. decides to. drive from Bellingham, Washington, all. across the country to. Washington, D.C., where he finds himself in. the downtown of the city about a block.

or two from the White House. This is an area that has. a lot of people going through it and. there are restaurants and coffee shops. And he is walking on the sidewalk near a. bus stop. where he comes across. two National Guard members from West. Virginia. Sarah Beckstrom, 20-year-old, and Andrew. Wolf, a 24-year-old. And Mr. Lockenwal decides to pull out. his gun.

and shoot both of them multiple times. As part of that gunfire, he himself. takes on shots. >> Right. And he is down on the ground. These shots were heard by colleagues. here at The New York Times. Our bureau. is. very close to the site of the shooting. And just a day later we found out that. one of the Guard members, Ms. Beckstrom, had died from her gunshot wounds. And.

suddenly all of these. dramas are colliding. The war in. Afghanistan, which Trump loathed as a. forever war. And his use of National. Guard across American cities. It's all. colliding and it's a very strange. moment. Yeah, definitely. And and you can see. how for President Trump, this is. something that he personally is tied to. And for him, I think it really confirms.

a lot of the claims that he's made in. the past. A lot of his worst fears that. an immigrant from a far-flung country. would come here and and shoot two US. military members. near the White House. And I think that's really reason for him. and in his mind and his advisers' mind. to undertake a crackdown on the. immigration system that's unlike. anything that we've seen this year.

[Music]. We'll be right back. So, Hamed, describe what happens to the. immigration system in the days since. this shooting and how the Trump. administration has explained those. actions.

In the telling of top Trump. administration officials. [Music]. a 29-year-old. Afghan who entered the United States. under Biden's Operation Allies Welcome a. program following the disastrous. withdrawal from Afghanistan. This is. what happens. Including US Attorney. Jeanine Pirro this individual is in this. country for one reason and one reason. alone, the failure to vet in any way,

shape, or form this individual and. countless others. The FBI director, Kash. Patel He was flown in by the Biden. administration in September 2021. on those infamous flights that everybody. was talking about. Nobody knew who was coming in. Nobody. knew anything about it. His status was. ex- And President Trump himself this. shooting was the result of a series of. Biden administration failures. Not only. in the way that they ended the war,

which President Trump has often. criticized but in the way that they let. these Afghans, including Mr. Lockenwal, into the country without, in their. words, the necessary vetting. [Music]. Does the White House point to anything. specific. as they're critiquing the vetting. process? Because, of course, as you told. us a little bit earlier in this. conversation it's the Trump. administration that grants that final.

asylum. Yeah, no, there's nothing specifically. that they're pointing to. And when President Trump was asked. about, you know, this idea that. they granted this man asylum during his. administration in April Right. he. wouldn't engage with that answer and. again he returned to this idea that. you know, Biden brought him and once. people are brought to this country, there's not much that they can do. That's essentially what he said. Understood. So, let's now turn to the.

crackdown that Trump has undertaken to. the immigration system over the past few. days and really understand. the details of it. Yeah, basically in a matter of days the. Trump administration. takes a series of actions. that have just massive implications. Mhm. At first, the Department of. Homeland Security announces there's a. pause on all immigration applications. filed by Afghan immigrants. So, for.

Afghans in the United States, this means. a pause on their ability to seek a green. card, US citizenship. For them, their. ability to stay in this country. long-term is now on hold. All that's. just being shut down. Temporarily, perhaps, but shut down. Yes, exactly. And they build on that. They say they. they will review all asylum applications. that were granted during the Biden.

administration. They're No matter which. country the asylum seeker's from. All of. it. They're going to go back and look at. those applications and figure out if. there were any issues with those grants. And again, building on this idea that. the Biden administration, in their. words, did not do enough vetting. So, suddenly we're now talking about a pause. not just in those seeking asylum from. Afghanistan but potentially thousands or. tens of thousands of people seeking. asylum from any country in the world. Exactly. So, they're going back to look. at those records.

And they take it even a step further. They decide that. actually we're going to review all green. card holders from countries that. President Trump already banned from. travel to the United States. You know, these were countries like Iran, Eritrea, Sudan. and others. So, people who are already in the United. States who've gone through a lot of. process now have their applications. under review. In a sense, this is a.

retrospective look back at those who. have, in some cases, already been. granted their green cards. They're. basically saying the old system is. suspect, so we will kind of reopen your. green card. There is definitely that. potential. They're going to go back and. look at potentially hundreds of. thousands of records. Wow. A massive. review. We don't know how this is going. to take shape and how they're going to. do this, but they've announced that they. will do this. And then on Friday, after they'd already. announced that they were going to review.

all the people that had gotten asylum. between 2021 and 2024. but now people already in the United. States trying to gain asylum in the. process, those applications are now on. hold as well. Really going after the. entire asylum system. And on that same day, the State. Department announces that there will be. no more visas for Afghan nationals. Cutting off another way for Afghans to. enter the United States.

And in fact, a State Department cable. that we obtained. detailed how Afghan nationals who. already had their visas granted and. printed and were going to be dispersed. to those Afghans, those needed to be. destroyed. Wow. >> So, they're taking every step possible. to target Afghans not only in America. but abroad. And not just from what you said Afghans, but really anyone seeking asylum or a.

green card. In a very real sense, it. feels like the entire system of giving. foreigners refuge in the US for. political or economic circumstances is. on pause. Yeah, you know, what's really remarkable. here is this idea that yes, we're going. to pause a bunch of people from entering. the United States. but we're also going to go back and. we're going to review. people who've already obtained a form of.

status in the United States. We're going. to go back and look at those records as. well. So, it's not only prospective but. it's retrospective as well. Does this administration have the legal. power to do everything you're describing. because it is so sweeping and so. retrospective? Yeah, these will undoubtedly lead to. legal challenges, especially this idea. of going back. These are people who have. gone through layers of vetting, layers. of interviews extensive interaction with.

the US government. that if they take action on those. people, that will lead to, I think, legal action across the United States. So, we're going to have to wait and see. how this plays out in our legal system. I want to return for just a moment to. Afghanistan. Because as broad as some of. these potential changes to our. immigration system are. what stands out to me is what these. changes will mean for the future of that.

promise that the US made to Afghans who. helped America in the war. And in the. case of Lockenwal. yes, the promise was kept. But it's. clear from Trump's actions that the. promise won't be kept for anyone else. from Afghanistan in the future. And. there's a very revealing exchange about. this on social media over the past. couple of days that I want to discuss. with you. It begins with an editorial. from the Wall Street Journal, which is a. very conservative editorial board. And.

I'm going to read you. what. they wrote in this editorial. Okay. Quote, "Some will say that the shooting. in downtown Washington means that the. United States should never admit. refugees like Law Ken Wah. But the alternative is abandoning allies. who assist Americans in war." And the. editorial goes on to say. "You can be sure Americans will fight. overseas again, and our troops will need. allies on the ground to succeed. How.

many?" the editorial asks, "will assist. the US if they believe that there will. be no exit for them?" Basically, this editorial asks, "What happens when. the US just leaves people behind on the. battlefield?". Yeah, and one person who reads this. editorial and disagrees with it strongly. is the chief of President Trump's.

immigration crackdown, Stephen Miller. He went online on on social media and. said. quote, "This is the great lie of mass. migration. You are not just importing individuals, you are importing societies. No magic. transformation occurs when failed states. borders. At scale, migrants and their. descendants recreate the conditions and. terrors of their broken homelands.".

Will you just translate that? Yeah, I mean, I think what's remarkable. about this tweet is that Miller is not. only turning to. the immigrants themselves who arrive in. the United States, but he's saying that. their children are a threat as well. Right. And I think it's worth saying. just how much the Wall Street Journal. editorial and Stephen Miller's. statements completely talk past each. other because. the editorial.

is saying that American credibility and. the future of our foreign policy. requires us to keep our commitments to. those who risk their lives for the US. That it's foundational to. our ability to function in the world. Miller's statement completely bypasses. that and says broken people from broken. societies are just an existential danger. to the US, therefore we can't let them. in. But what Miller's argument doesn't. grapple with at all is the reality that.

America played a part, and a pretty big. part, in breaking Afghanistan in the. first place. Yeah, for Miller, that's besides the. point. It's not about what America owes. people and countries. It's about who's good for the United. States and who's not good. People who are from countries that he. has deemed to be failed societies do not. deserve the opportunity to come to.

America. Right. It's kind of an open. embrace of collective punishment because. in Law Ken Wah, we clearly have someone. who and we don't quite understand the. mechanics of it, but. becomes at some point in his life. radicalized. But he's just one of. thousands, if not tens of thousands, of. Afghans who the US previously made a. commitment to to protect and bring to. the US. And Trump and Stephen Miller are.

now saying. because one of them did this thing, none of them. can come to the US. Yeah, exactly. I think that's right. But I also just want to point out this. idea that like like you're mentioning. collective punishment, these Afghans who. helped the American military have been. supported by veterans. Mhm. You know, I've spoken with veterans. who have personally tried to bring those.

people who helped them, translators and. others, to the United States, bring them to safety. I mean, the plot. point of this idea of Afghans helping. American military members has been. in movies and shows. Mhm. And for now, this idea of helping Afghans who helped. the American military in Afghanistan, that's over. Just to end, Hamed, I don't want to. entirely lose sight of the National. Guard and its place.

in this story. The second guardsman who was shot. remains in critical condition in a. hospital. And this deployment of the National. Guard in Washington remains a source of. really profound controversy. Yeah, this idea of bringing the federal. forces to the city was really opposed by. a lot of citizens in Washington, D.C. [Music].

But in the days since the shooting, President Trump has announced that he. was planning to send 500 more National. Guard members to Washington, D.C. Mhm. So now this deployment, far from shrinking because of this. shooting, is now going to expand because of it. [Music]. Hamed, thank you very much. We appreciate it. Thank you for having me.

[Music]. On Sunday, the Secretary of Homeland. Security, Kristi Noem, told NBC News. that the alleged shooter may not have. become radicalized until after he. immigrated to the United States. That conclusion, if true, could. undermine the Trump administration's. claims that the Biden administration had. failed to properly vet him before he.

arrived into the country. We'll be right back. [Music]. Here's what else you need to know today. Over the past few days, President Trump. has carried out a series of profoundly. contradictory actions in his war against. drug cartels.

Trump declared in a post on social media. that the airspace above and around. Venezuela, which he is accused of. flooding the US with drugs, should now. be considered closed. It was his latest. threat against the regime of Venezuela's. authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro. But at the same time, Trump announced a. full pardon of a former president of. Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, who. has been convicted in US federal court.

of conspiring with local drug cartels to. bring vast amounts of cocaine into the. United States. Meanwhile, on Sunday, members of Congress from both. parties said that the Trump. administration may have committed a war. crime in its offensive against boats. allegedly carrying drugs in the. Caribbean. According to the Washington Post, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a. verbal order to kill everyone aboard.

such boats, leading a US military. commander to carry out a second strike. to kill those who had survived an. initial air strike back in September. Do. you believe if there was a second strike. to eliminate any survivors, that that constitutes a war crime? It. seems to. Uh, if what has been reported. is ac- accurate, I've got serious. concerns about.

anybody in that, you know, chain of. command stepping over a line that they. should never step over. You know, going. after survivors in the water. Um, that is clearly not lawful. Both. Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona. on CNN and Republican Representative. Mike Turner of Ohio on CBS said that. such a second strike would violate the. rules of war. Obviously, if that. occurred, that would be be very serious, and I agree that that that would would.

be an illegal act. Turner said that the. Post reporting on the second strike. would become the focus of an existing. congressional investigation into the air. strikes on the boats. [Music]. Today's episode was produced by Rochelle. Bongja and Mooj Zadie. It was edited by Patricia Willens with. help from Michael Benoist. And was engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Contains music by Dan Powell, Mary.

Lozano, and Diane Wong. [Music]. That's it for The Daily. I'm Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow. [Music].