Homeland Security holds Biden administration responsible for killing of Sarah Beckstrom

Washington, DC, [US], December 1 (ANI): Kristi Noem, Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has held the previous Joe Biden administration responsible for the killing of National Guard member Spec. Sarah Beckstrom in the White House shooting.

"This individual's application to be in this country started under the Joe Biden administration. The consequences of the shooting and the death of Sarah are directly on the shoulders of Joe Biden and his administration," Noem said while referring to suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal being charged with first-degree murder after one of the two severely wounded National Guard members died.

Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe (24), the other National Guard member, battles for his life as he recovers from severe injuries from the shooting.

Lakanwal (29), who migrated from Afghanistan in 2021 under "Operation Allies Welcome" during Joe Biden's tenure, after the chaotic withdrawal of US forces in Afghanistan.

Speaking on the migration from Afghanistan, Neom argued that the Joe Biden administration didn't conduct a thorough investigation and was lackadaisical in the vetting process.

"If you remember, during that operation, when Afghanistan was abandoned, people were just put on aircraft and brought to the United States. The administration at that time said that they would vet them, but didn't do a thorough investigation," the DHS Secretary said.

However, Neom said, the Trump administration has put in place extensive measures to vet immigrants, including scrutiny of their social media platforms and communications. She stated that it was never done before, and thus, incidents like the Wednesday White House shooting occur.

"They only checked names and a few data points, but President Trump has put in place biometric information, checking social media platforms, communications, and contacts. The Biden administration never did that. He brought them in and said we would vet them later. This is how things like these happen," she added.

DHS also accused the previous Biden administration of committing an "act of national self-sabotage" by letting immigrants like Lakanwal into the country. The department further stated that immigration requests for Afghan nationals have been suspended indefinitely.

"The monster who carried out the attack in DC should never have been in this country. The Biden Administration let him--and countless others--in, an act of national self-sabotage. Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals has been stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols," Homeland Security said.

Although capital punishment has been abolished in District of Columbia, Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday said she will seek the death penalty against the man accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, the Hill reported.

In August, US president Donald Trump had asserted that his government would seek capital punishment in every murder case that occurred in Washington, DC.

Trump earlier said that he would permanently pause migration from all "third-world countries" to allow the US system to terminate illegal admissions into the United States. (ANI)

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