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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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A total of 407 U.S. lawmakers voted to provide more visas for Afghan nationals after the U.S. withdrew from the country in 2021 and the Taliban took control.
The measure, which was introduced by Democratic Representative Jason Crow of Colorado and passed on July 22, 2021, has attracted renewed scrutiny after it emerged that the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday arrived in the U.S. from Afghanistan under a similar program.
The attack took place around 2:15 p.m. near the Farragut Square Metro Station. Officials said the 29-year-old suspect, identified by multiple media outlets as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was shot during the incident and taken into custody.
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Lakanwal, who lived in Washington state and had no criminal history, came to the U.S. in 2021 as part of Operation Allies Welcome, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said. In 2024, he applied for asylum, which the government granted in 2025, CNN reported, citing anonymous sources.
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Why It Matters
The shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members deployed in Washington, D.C., has sparked concerns about security and the vetting of Afghan refugees. While the Trump administration has said the U.S. should now reexamine Afghans who entered the U.S. in recent years, some have raised concerns about stigmatizing Afghan nationals.
What To Know
In August 2021, then-President Joe Biden launched Operation Allies Welcome, which granted Afghans the right to remain in the U.S. for two years. More than 75,000 Afghan refugees were admitted to the United States.
Meanwhile, a congressional resolution created 8,000 new visas for Afghans who helped U.S. forces and other nongovernmental organizations as well as Afghans who may have faced persecution.
The 407 lawmakers who voted for the congressional measure included 215 Democrats and 192 Republicans. Three Republicans and four Democrats did not vote for the measure, while 16 Republicans voted against it.
A July 2021 statement from the Office of Management and Budget said the administration "must be able to do more" to get Afghans to safety, adding that it would "assist in our efforts to streamline the application process by removing or revising some statutory requirements" described as "unnecessary and burdensome." The statement said there would still be "appropriate security vetting."
The full list of members of the House of Representatives who voted for the measure can be found here.
A spokesperson for Representative Scott DesJarlais, a Tennessee Republican who voted against the measure, told Newsweek at the time: "Congressman DesJarlais supports bringing in interpreters and allies that assisted us in the war effort.
"However, there is concern about the broad net being cast by the Biden administration that will surely let potential terrorists slip through the cracks. Rep. DesJarlais would like to see a better vetting plan in place before the United States starts bringing 40,000 to 60,000 Afghans and their families to our country."
Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, told Newsweek in July 2021: "The program to extend visas to those who helped our military already exists and I support that program. The vote on the new measure was to greatly expand the number of visas and to include categories of people who did not help us in the war, while simultaneously reducing the vetting of these immigrants."
Scrutiny about previous legislation comes as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on Wednesday that had stopped processing all immigration requests from Afghan nationals.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump said in a video statement released by the White House on X on Wednesday: "The suspect in custody is a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan, a hellhole on earth. He was flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021 on those infamous flights that everybody was talking about."
Vice President JD Vance wrote on X: "I remember back in 2021 criticizing the Biden policy of opening the floodgate to unvetted Afghan refugees. Friends sent me messages calling me a racist. It was a clarifying moment. They shouldn't have been in our country."
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services wrote on X: "Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols. The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission."
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser wrote on X: "Today's attack on two members of the West Virginia National Guard was horrific and unconscionable. We can confirm that a suspect is in custody for this targeted shooting and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Our prayers are with the victims and their loved ones."
Cyrus Mehta, an immigration attorney, wrote on X: "One person's actions does not at all justify the suspension of immigration benefits for all Afghan nationals. We should refrain from scapegoating and tainting an entire immigrant community even if Trump is indulging in it. This sort of racial profiling creates uncertainty to Afghans who helped the U.S. military at great risk to their lives."
What Happens Next
Trump has asked for 500 more National Guard members to be deployed to Washington, D.C., following the shooting of two guardsmen near a downtown Metro station, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
The West Virginia National Guard members, who have not been identified, remain in critical condition.
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