A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
One of the National Guard members shot during an attack in the nation's capital has died. Sarah Beckstrom was 20 years old. The Trump administration is responding by launching a sweeping reexamination of green cards issued to immigrants from 19 countries, and Trump has since called for even wider immigration restrictions. Coming up, we'll speak with an Army National Guard veteran who is part of a group supporting Afghan refugees in the U.S. First, though, NPR's Brian Mann joins me. Brian, tell us about Sarah.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Yeah. A, she was an Army specialist from Summersville, West Virginia. She joined the service in 2023. And speaking last night, President Trump described her as an incredible person in every single way. He made the announcement Beckstrom had died during a conference call with military leaders.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: She's no longer with us. She's looking down at us right now. Her parents are with her. It's just happened. She was savagely attacked. She's dead.
MANN: West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey said Beckstrom showed strength and character that define the very best of the West Virginia National Guard. A second guard member, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, is still in critical condition after undergoing surgery, and Trump said last night that Wolfe is fighting for his life.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. Now, about the alleged gunman, any clues on why?
MANN: We don't know a motive for this attack. Federal officials say Rahmanullah Lakanwal drove across the U.S. from his residence in Washington state, then allegedly attacked these guard members with a handgun. Lakanwal served in Afghanistan alongside U.S. forces. A nonprofit group that works with refugees called AfghanEvac issued a statement saying Lakanwal was part of an elite counterterrorism group that had ties to the CIA. Yesterday, CIA director John Ratcliffe confirmed Lakanwal was allowed into the U.S. - and I'm quoting here - "due to his prior work with the U.S. government, including the CIA." He applied for asylum in the Biden years and was granted asylum protection in April of this year under the Trump administration.
MARTÍNEZ: And President Trump has had a lot to say about immigration policy.
MANN: Absolutely. President Trump posted yesterday on social media that he plans to pause migration into the U.S. from what he described as all Third World countries. He called for an effort to denaturalize migrants and deport foreign nationals. In a separate statement posted on social media, John Edlow (ph), head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said he's launching a full-scale, rigorous examination of every green card for aliens from every country of concern. A, that appears to target 19 countries that include Afghanistan, but also completely unrelated countries like Haiti, Sierra Leone and Venezuela. The Trump administration's narrative here appears to be that Lakanwal was allowed into the U.S. without proper vetting, suggesting this could be a widespread problem. Here's FBI director Kash Patel speaking yesterday.
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KASH PATEL: This individual is in this country for one reason and one reason alone - because of the disastrous withdrawal from the Biden administration and the failure to vet any way, in any way, shape or form, this individual and countless others.
MANN: But sources, including that nonprofit group, AfghanEvac, have told NPR that Lakanwal would have been scrutinized repeatedly in Afghanistan and also before coming to the U.S. Experts say refugees allowed into the U.S. were vetted, and that process was later audited by the FBI and other agencies. They found it to be an imperfect but thorough and competent review process. And experts also point out the fact that the majority of refugees from Afghanistan are living in the U.S. peacefully.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's Brian Mann. Brian, thanks.
MANN: Thanks so much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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