National Guard
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The shocking ambush of two National Guard members in Washington DC, which left Guardswoman Sarah Beckstrom, 20, dead and Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, 24, critically hospitalised, has forced the US to confront a disturbing national security failure. The alleged suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was among the thousands of people brought to the US following the chaotic 2021 troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Now, startling new data obtained by The Post reveals the true scope of the security risks that were apparently overlooked: more than 5,000 Afghan migrants brought to the US under President Biden's Operation Allies Welcome were flagged on national security grounds.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data, obtained by Senator Chuck Grassley, lays bare the extent of the security breach. In total, the feds uncovered 'potential derogatory information' on a colossal 6,868 people who arrived from Afghanistan in 2021.

Of that number, a staggering 5,005 individuals came up with a national security concern, while 956 people had 'public safety' concerns and 876 were flagged for fraud, according to the document. This data confirms the long-standing fears that the rush to evacuate personnel resulted in systemic failures that put US citizens at risk.

The Glaring Data: Security Flags On Over 5,000 Afghan Migrants

The startling data, provided to Senator Grassley, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, following his persistent requests for oversight, offers a chilling look at the risks inherent in the evacuation programme.

While various US agencies were able to resolve many of the red flags through subsequent checks, as of September 2025, there were still 885 peoplewith potentially negative national security information—individuals still posing a possible threat within the country.

The data comes to light just days after the Washington DC ambush and confirms that the systemic issues predicted by critics have become fatal realities. CIA Director John Ratcliffe revealed hours after the 26 November Guard shooting that the suspect, Lakanwal, had previously worked alongside the CIA in Afghanistan.

Ratcliffe's assessment was blunt: Lakanwal 'should never have been allowed to come here.' This was echoed by former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker, who commented on the suspect's prior cooperation: 'It sounds like they may have vouched for this guy... cooperators play both ends all the time.'

This tragic incident spurred immediate action from the current administration. President Trump ordered a review of security and vetting protocols for migrants from 19 'high-risk' countries, along with all asylum cases approved by the prior administration, signalling a decisive move to address the lax standards.

Institutional Failure: The Vetting Breakdown For Afghan Migrants

Senator Grassley has been pressing the FBI and DHS about 'glaring red flags' in the programme—which brought over 70,000 Afghans to the US—ever since the chaotic 2021 troop withdrawal. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem provided the data in a 9 September letter, just three days after the agency's Inspector General (IG) reported that DHS 'encountered obstacles to screen, vet and inspect all evacuees.'

Grassley confirmed his years of concern, stating, 'I spent years calling attention to the weak vetting standards in Operation Allies Welcome, despite considerable pushback from the Biden administration and many of my colleagues in Congress. Sadly, this past week's tragedy in Washington only validates my concerns further.'

Multiple IG reports confirm the institutional failure. Another DHS IG report found the agency had a 'fragmented process' for dealing with potential security risks. Even more alarmingly, a Justice Department IG report in June revealed that 55 individuals who were on a terror watch list still made it to a US port as of May 2023.

This confirms the dire warning from the FBI, who concluded that 'the need to immediately evacuate Afghans overtook the normal processes required to determine whether individuals attempting to enter the United States pose a threat to national security, which increased the risk that bad actors could try to exploit the expedited evacuation.'

The consequences are not limited to the recent tragedy. While compiling its report, the IG's office noted the feds charged two Afghan nationals, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi (who reportedly worked for the CIA as a security guard in his home country) and Abdullah Haji Zada, with planning an ISIS-inspired plot to try to disrupt the 2024 elections in Oklahoma City.

Tawhedi, who came in on a Special Immigrant Visa and obtained two AK-47 assault rifles and 500 rounds of ammo in 2024, pleaded guilty in June to providing material support for ISIS and faces up to 35 years in prison. Zada, 19, received a 15-year sentence.

The FBI warned that for future efforts, 'You have to have an analyst or an agent look at every doggone one of them and do it critically and set some objective criteria for disqualification,' an indication of the immense work required to secure the US border against bad actors exploiting a humanitarian effort.

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