Staff Reports
Last week’s ambush near the White House left the nation reeling: two West Virginia National Guard members were shot on November 26, 2025, and one, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, later died from her injuries while another remains in critical condition. The accused shooter has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered the United States under Operation Allies Welcome in 2021.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded with the blunt honesty Americans deserve, saying President Trump’s mass deportation plans are now “more important than ever” after this atrocity and questioning the value of admitting people who refuse to assimilate. That kind of clarity is rare in Washington, and it underscores a simple truth: national security must come before open-borders sentimentality.
The administration did not wait for talking points; it moved. U.S. agencies have paused asylum decisions, halted visas for Afghan passport holders, and signaled a reexamination of green cards from countries of concern to ensure Americans are protected first. These are the hard, necessary steps a responsible government must take when a lethal breach of public safety highlights clear vulnerabilities in our immigration system.
Facts about the suspect only deepen the outrage: reports show Lakanwal served in a CIA‑backed Afghan unit, struggled to adapt after arrival, and was granted asylum in 2025 despite red flags about his stability and integration. Whether due to bureaucratic negligence or a misguided rush to resettle, this case lays bare the consequences of letting ideology trump common-sense vetting. Americans who volunteer to stand between chaos and our homes deserve better than bureaucratic excuses.
Leavitt’s rebuke of asylum abuse — that refugees who exploit our system and don’t assimilate should not be rewarded — is not cruelty, it is patriotism. We can honor genuine victims and allies without opening the door to those who would harm our people; protecting American servicemembers and civilians must be the nonnegotiable baseline for any immigration policy. The Biden era’s lax approach failed to prioritize that baseline, and it’s past time to correct course decisively.
If Washington is serious about keeping Americans safe, it will back President Trump’s mass deportation agenda and pair it with rigorous vetting, accountable enforcement, and support for the troops who defend our streets. Sympathy for suffering is American — but so is the duty to defend our communities, our families, and those who wear the uniform. Let this tragedy be the moment when leaders choose security over spectacle and results over rhetoric.
