🔗 Share this article

Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, asserted on the weekend that the suspect in the military shooting in Washington DC was turned to extremism within the US and pointed fingers at the Biden administration, despite the fact that the suspect's refugee status was granted under the previous administration.

Background of the Shooting Suspect

The shooting suspect, in his late twenties Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was awarded protection under the former government in spring 2025. The individual had worked with CIA backed units in Afghanistan, arriving in the US in September 2021 under an special immigration program.

It is our assessment extremism took hold since he’s been here in this country,” the secretary said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “We do believe the influence came from local networks and state, efforts will persist to talk to his contacts, who were his family members, who talk to them.”

Political Response and Asylum Scrutiny

The former leadership leveraged the shooting as grounds to pause and reassess asylum and green card applications.

The secretary asserted “vetting is happening upon entry, a process entirely neglected by the current government”.

“Relevant screening data was collected by Joe Biden’s administration,” said she. “The vetting process were conducted during the current term.”

Deportation Operations and Judicial Challenges

Noem also denied that she disobeyed a court directive when she authorized deportation flights to El Salvador to continue, attributing the issue to “partisan” and “radical” judges.

The comments came in response to inquiries on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday about whether she was responsible to continue the deportation flights for migrants from Venezuela earlier this year, as the federal legal agency claimed.

“We’ll continue to do the right thing, proceed diligently and protect Americans, no matter what radical judge emerges and tries to stop us,” the secretary said.

Noem also appeared on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, where she confirmed the operations were her decision.

“Yes, the call was mine as it fell within my jurisdiction in compliance with regulations and legal framework and the leadership of this president focused on removing high-risk individuals and gangs and cartels from the nation,” Noem stated. “This is an activist judge and it is clear, as noted, we’re still in litigation challenging this judicial intervention who’s continuously tried to block our efforts ensuring public safety.”

Legal Assertions and Contempt Inquiry

The Department of Justice claimed the action complied with the judge’s order. Federal judge James Boasberg in the capital had ordered removal operations already in the air turn back in March 2025, but the secretary instructed flights underway carrying Venezuelan immigrants to the destination proceed, with the legal agency stating the individuals were no longer in US territory.

Boasberg has been subject to a contempt inquiry into whether the former government disregarded his spring judicial directive.