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Tragically, two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot in Washington, D.C., last week. One of them, 20-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, died of her injuries.
The shooter has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who drove across the country from Washington to kill Guard members. Like so many shooters in America, Lakanwal reportedly struggled with deteriorating mental health.
Predictably, the Trump administration has used the horrific incident to punish all recent immigrants from Afghanistan, as well as thousands of migrants from other countries.
This is ridiculous, and cruel.
Of course, not all people from Afghanistan or all Muslims or all immigrants should be punished for the actions of one man. That would be like blaming all white people for the hundreds of mass shootings in America, the majority of which were perpetrated by white men. That would be like blaming all of America’s white men for the killing of Charlie Kirk, who was murdered by a white man.
The Trump administration has long been looking for ways to demonize immigrants, especially those who are not white (they’ve rolled out the red carpet for white immigrants from South Africa). The shootings in D.C. late last month fit the administration’s hateful narrative.
That narrative, however, is flawed because Lakanwal, who was closely vetted by the U.S., was trained and worked with the CIA in Afghanistan to kill Taliban commanders. He entered the U.S. in 2021 and was granted asylum this spring by the Trump administration.
In addition, the death of Beckstrom is additionally tragic because a judge had ruled last week that the deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C. was illegal. He, however, did not order their immediate withdrawal.
The Trump administration is using Beckstrom’s death to justify National Guard deployments in additional U.S. cities, although other judges have ruled such deployments are illegal as well.
It’s also using it to further dehumanize immigrants and to keep them out of the United States.
Thousands of people from Afghanistan have been resettled in the United States in the wake of the war in Afghanistan. Many now live in Maine. The U.S. involvement in Afghanistan ended with a disastrous withdrawal of U.S. troops, which was botched by the Trump and Biden administration, leaving the country’s economy and government in ruins. The U.S. failed to secure the safety of thousands of Afghan citizens who had worked with and for the U.S. military and government during the war. These allies who remain in Afghanistan fear for their lives and safety, as well as that of their families.
Veterans groups have worked for years trying to bring more of these Afghan allies to the U.S. and to improve the legal status of those who are already here. Those efforts had stalled without action from Congress, leaving many in limbo, making it difficult for them to get work permits and to support their families.
Now such efforts seemed doomed, and many Afghan allies could face a return to a country where their lives are at risk. Congress must step in to stop this cruelty, which sends a message to future allies that America cannot be trusted.
“It would be a shame if this single act of betrayal became the excuse for deporting all Afghan refugees in the U.S.,” the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal wrote last week.
“Tens of thousands are building new lives here in peace and are contributing to their communities. They shouldn’t be blamed for the violent act of one man. Collective punishment of all Afghans in the U.S. won’t make America safer and it might embitter more against the United States,” in concluded.
Beyond those from Afghanistan who have settled in the U.S., millions of immigrants have built lives, families and business in the U.S. Threatening to upend their lives because of one incident, or the racist beliefs of some of those in the president’s inner circle, is not only heartless, it is counterproductive.
