By Kate PlummerShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberA total of 407 U.S. lawmakers voted to provide more visas for Afghan nationals after the U.S. withdrew from the country in 2021 and the Taliban took control.
The measure, which was introduced by Colorado Democrat Jason Crow and passed on July 22, 2021, has attracted renewed scrutiny after it emerged that the suspect who shot two National Guard soldiers in Washington D.C. on Wednesday arrived in the U.S. from Afghanistan under a similar scheme.
The attack took place at around 2:15 p.m. near the Farragut Square Metro Station. Officials said the 29-year-old suspect, identified by multiple media outlets as Rahmanullah Lakanwal suffered gunshot wounds during the incident and was taken into custody.
Lakanwal, who lived in Washington state and had no criminal history, came to the U.S in 2021 as part of the Operation Allies Welcome Scheme, DHS secretary Kristi Noem said. He then applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted it in 2025, according to CNN, which cited anonymous sources.
...Former president Joe Biden launched the Operation Allies Welcome scheme in August 2021. It granted Afghans the right to remain in the U.S. for two years. More than 75,000 Afghan refugees were admitted to the U.S.
Meanwhile, the Congressional resolution created 8,000 new visas for Afghans who helped U.S. forces and other nongovernmental organizations as well as Afghans who may have faced persecution.
Why It Matters
The shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members deployed in Washington D.C. has sparked concerns about security and the vetting of Afghan refugees. While the Trump administration has said the U.S. should now reexamine Afghans who entered the U.S. in recent years, some have raised concerns about stigmatizing Afghan nationals.
What To Know
The 407 lawmakers who voted for the Congressional measure included 215 Democrats and 192 Republicans. Four Democrats did not vote and 16 Republicans voted against it. Three Republicans did not vote for the measure.
An Office of Management and Budget Statement in July 2021 said the administration "must be able to do more" to get Afghans to safety and that it "will assist in our efforts to streamline the application process by removing or revisiting some statutory requirements" described as "unnecessary and burdensome." The statement said there would still be "appropriate security vetting."
The full list of members of the House of Representatives who voted for the measure can be found here.
A spokesperson for Representative Scott DesJarlais, a Tennessee Republican who voted against the measure told Newsweek at the time: "Congressman DesJarlais supports bringing in interpreters and allies that assisted us in the war effort.
"However, there is concern about the broad net being cast by the Biden administration that will surely let potential terrorists slip through the cracks. Rep. DesJarlais would like to see a better vetting plan in place before the United States starts bringing 40,000 to 60,000 Afghans and their families to our country."
Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie told Newsweek in July 2021: "The program to extend visas to those who helped our military already exists and I support that program. The vote on the new measure was to greatly expand the number of visas and to include categories of people who did not help us in the war, while simultaneously reducing the vetting of these immigrants."
Scrutiny about previous legislation comes as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USICs) announced on Wednesday that is has stopped processing all immigration requests from Afghan nationals
What People Are Saying
Trump said in a video statement released by the White House on X Wednesday night: "The suspect in custody is a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan, a hellhole on earth. He was floated by the Biden administration in September 2021 for those infamous flights that everybody was talking about."
Vice President JD Vance wrote on X: "I remember back in 2021 criticizing the Biden policy of opening the floodgate to unvetted Afghan refugees. Friends sent me messages calling me a racist. It was a clarifying moment. They shouldn't have been in our country."
In a post on X late Wednesday, USCIS said: "Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols. The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission."
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser wrote on X: "Today's attack on two members of the West Virginia National Guard was horrific and unconscionable. We can confirm that a suspect is in custody for this targeted shooting and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Our prayers are with the victims and their loved ones."
Cyrus Mehta, an immigration attorney, wrote on X: "One person's actions does not at all justify the suspension of immigration benefits for all Afghan nationals. We should refrain from scapegoating and tainting an entire immigrant community even if Trump is indulging in it. This sort of racial profiling creates uncertainty to Afghans who helped the US military at great risk to their lives."
What Happens Next
President Donald Trump has asked for 500 more National Guard members to be deployed to Washington, D.C., following the shooting of two Guardsmen near a downtown Metro station, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
The West Virginia Guard members, who have not been identified, remain in critical condition.
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