40% of Afghan asylum applications under Biden-era Operation Allies Welcome had vetting errors: DHS watchdog

Among those admitted through Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) was Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the Afghan national accused of driving from Washington state to Washington, DC, and carrying out an ambush-style attack on two National Guard members near the White House in November 2025.

Lakanwal, 29, had been living in Bellingham, Washington, before authorities say he drove across the country and opened fire without provocation on West Virginia National Guard members Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe on Nov. 26, 2025. Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries, while Wolfe, 24, was critically wounded. Federal prosecutors charged Lakanwal with first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, and firearms offenses. The charges remain allegations.

Lakanwal entered the United States through Operation Allies Welcome in September 2021 after previously serving with an Afghan partner force that worked with the CIA.

Now, the DHS Office of Inspector General has identified significant deficiencies in US Citizenship and Immigration Services' handling of asylum applications from OAW entrants. According to DHS, the watchdog found errors in 40 percent of the files it reviewed, including missed opportunities to identify aliases supplied by applicants that could have uncovered information relevant to whether they were eligible for asylum.

Operation Allies Welcome was established following the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Congress required USCIS to interview qualifying OAW asylum applicants within 45 days of filing and generally adjudicate their cases within 150 days. A 2023 settlement in Ahmed v. DHS subsequently required USCIS to adjudicate 90 percent of covered OAW asylum applications within 150 days. USCIS employees warned that the accelerated timeline could interfere with their ability to comprehensively review applications, according to DHS, leading the inspector general to examine the process from March 2024 through January 2025.

The latest findings follow previous DHS inspector general warnings about the government's ability to identify and respond to derogatory information involving OAW evacuees. Several Afghans admitted to the United States in the aftermath of the withdrawal have subsequently been implicated in terrorism cases or violent crimes.

In Oklahoma, Afghan national Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi pleaded guilty to plotting an ISIS-inspired mass-casualty attack planned for Election Day 2024. According to the Department of Justice, Tawhedi conspired to purchase two AK-47-style rifles, 500 rounds of ammunition, and 10 magazines for an attack on behalf of ISIS. His co-conspirator, Abdullah Haji Zada, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. Prosecutors said the pair was arrested after purchasing weapons and ammunition from an undercover FBI employee.

The Justice Department later took the unprecedented step of bringing Zada's mother, Nazira Haji Zada, before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, alleging that she supported her family's plans for the Election Day mass shooting.

Another Afghan national, Mohammad Dawood Alokozay, was federally charged in December 2025 after allegedly threatening to build a bomb, carry out a suicide attack, and kill Americans. According to federal prosecutors, Alokozay allegedly discussed putting a bomb in his vehicle and conducting a suicide attack against Americans.

Violent crimes involving Afghan evacuees were also reported almost immediately after the 2021 evacuation.

At Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, Afghan evacuee Bahrullah Noori was federally charged with attempting to engage in a sexual act with a minor using force and three additional counts involving sexual acts with minors. Prosecutors alleged that the victims were younger than 16.

In an unrelated case at the same installation, Afghan evacuee Mohammad Haroon Imaad was charged with assaulting his wife by strangling and suffocating her.

At Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Afghan evacuee Mohammed Tariq was convicted by a federal jury of abusive sexual contact with a 3-year-old girl. According to federal prosecutors, Marines witnessed Tariq touching the unrelated child on her chest, genitals, and buttocks over her clothing while both families were being housed at Camp Upshur following their evacuation from Afghanistan.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the new inspector general findings demonstrate problems with the previous administration's handling of the Afghan program. “Our asylum system should be as strict as possible. If even one dangerous criminal or terrorist slips through and enters our country, it endangers countless American lives,” Mullin said.

“The Biden Administration dangerously mismanaged the Operation Allies Welcome program, disregarding all the thorough and well-established procedures of our asylum system and putting our nation at risk,” he added.

The findings add to longstanding questions about the screening, vetting and subsequent immigration processing of Afghans brought to the United States following the Biden administration’s disastrous 2021 withdrawal.