(NewsNation) — Foreign nationals who have pending asylum cases may now face a different fate after Homeland Security officials have pledged to review every petition in the wake of the targeted shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members last week.
Kristi Noem, the DHS secretary, said the review is taking place to ensure that those hoping to find asylum in the U.S. “deserve to be here.” But the crackdown is taking place after Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, is facing a first-degree murder charge in connection with the shooting of U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, who died from her injuries on Thanksgiving Day after being shot at point-blank range.
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe remains in critical condition after he was also allegedly shot by Lakanwal, prompting a stern response from Trump administration officials.
Noem and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Lakanwal was radicalized after arriving in the United States in 2021. Lakanwal came to the U.S. as part of Operation Allies Welcome, which helped evacuate 76,000 Afghans following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. He previously served in a special Afghan army unit that worked with the CIA.
But Noem now argues that people were put on planes and moved to the United States without being properly vetted. Now, as federal officials consider potential next steps involving foreign nationals who arrived from 19 “special interest” countries like Afghanistan, former DHS officials tell NewsNation that Biden-era immigration policies made their jobs more difficult.
Aaron Heitke, a retired U.S. Border Patrol sector chief, said that he was not allowed to publicly disclose arrest information involving migrants from “special interest” countries who were taken into federal custody. But he said it is “very likely” that those who were arrested did not undergo a thorough review before they were allowed to enter the country.
“With a country like Venezuela, if we’re not dealing with them and they’re not sending information that they have, then we’re blind to that information,” Heitke said.
The proposed reviews involve an estimated 2.4 million asylum-seekers who crossed into the United States during the Biden administration. Until now, those migrants who entered the United States illegally were provided due process, protecting them from being deported until they could appear before an immigration judge. However, in many cases, those migrants were facing up to a seven-year wait to appear in court.
But now, with the Trump administration pledging to halt the review of pending cases, those asylum-seekers could instead be facing deportation. Immigration attorneys say that, as of now, the steps being taken by the Trump administration are legal. However, that could change once the planned review is considered by a federal judge.
Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, a Texas-based immigration attorney, told NewsNation that the administration could add additional screening mechanisms for asylum-seekers during the pause. However, she said that a complete stop on all asylum cases likely would not gain the approval of a judge.
President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that the pause could remain in place for a lengthy period of time and that members of Lakanwal’s family could face immediate deportation in the wake of last week’s shooting.
Jason Houser, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief of staff under President Joe Biden, told NewsNation Monday that he agrees that the case of every asylum-seeker from “special interest” countries must be reviewed. Houser said that officials need to be vigilant in carefully monitoring asylum claims and vetting those seeking to remain in the United States.
However, the former ICE official said that many of those who arrived from Afghanistan in 2021 need to be protected, making any review process of pending cases critical. Houser believes that more advanced technology is needed to properly allow those working with the federal immigration system to “keep their eye on the ball” for those who may become radicalized, as Noem and Bondi suggest happened with Lakanwal.
“We have to remember that individual actors (like Lakanwal) are the very few, but we also need to be vigilant,” Houser said.
“But we also have to understand that over the last year, we have put consistent pressure on these (foreign nationals) who are extremely vulnerable by stripping them of their status or their ability to work and provide for their families. And you can see how some individuals could be radicalized to violence for a multitude of reasons.”