Trump Confirms His Admin is ‘Looking at’ Deporting Wife and Five Kids of National Guard Shooter
Rahmanullah Lakanwal
President Donald Trump said he is not ruling out the possibility of deporting the family of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the 29-year-old Afghan refugee charged with ambushing two National Guard soldiers near the White House.
Speaking to reporters on Thanksgiving, the president confirmed his administration is reviewing the option, responding, “Well, we’re looking at that right now,” when asked about the potential removal of Lakanwal’s wife and five children from the United States.
Authorities say Lakanwal opened fire Wednesday on two unarmed West Virginia National Guard members who were patrolling as part of “Operation DC Safe and Beautiful,” a mission launched to address growing crime in Washington, D.C.
Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was shot in the head and chest. Despite undergoing emergency surgery, she died Thanksgiving night. Her fellow guardsman, 24-year-old Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, was seriously wounded but survived and is now recovering, following initial reports that he had been in critical condition. A third Guard member returned fire, wounding Lakanwal, who was later arrested after being treated for serious injuries.
Federal prosecutors have since elevated the charges to first-degree murder. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said her office intends to pursue the case with full force. Attorney General Pam Bondi added that prosecutors will seek the death penalty, calling the attack “cowardly and barbaric.”
Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program after claiming he assisted the CIA in Afghanistan. He resettled in Bellingham, Washington.
During a Thanksgiving call with military personnel, President Trump announced Beckstrom’s passing, describing her as “an incredible person, outstanding in every single way.”
The FBI continues to investigate the motive behind the shooting. Officials have not yet labeled the incident as terrorism. President Trump, however, has condemned the attack as a “terrorist attack,” blaming it on what he called the failures of Biden’s immigration policies.
In a late-night Thanksgiving message on Truth Social, the president confirmed Beckstrom’s death and Wolfe’s condition and pledged to “permanently pause migration from all Third World countries,” including Afghanistan. He also vowed to eliminate federal benefits for noncitizens, revoke citizenship from dangerous individuals, and deport those he described as “non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
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