What is Operation Allies Welcome, Which Brought in Afghan Refugees?

After the U.S. military's 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban's subsequent takeover, Rahmanullah Lakanwal was among more than 76,000 Afghans allowed to resettle in the U.S. for humanitarian reasons.

The 29-year-old Bellingham resident is now accused of driving cross-country to Washington, D.C., where he allegedly shot two National Guard members on Wednesday, killing one.

Federal investigators have not said what they believe motivated Lakanwal to travel to the nation's capitol, where he is being treated for wounds. In Bellingham on Friday, few were willing to speak openly about the shooting or its potential ties to their city.

But the shooting has drawn attention to Lakanwal's journey from Afghanistan to Washington state and Operation Allies Welcome, the program that helped him and thousands of other Afghans to resettle in the U.S.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the U.S. must reexamine" every Afghan who resettled in the U.S. during his predecessor's administration. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services then announced it had indefinitely halted processing any immigration requests from Afghanistan.

On Friday, U.S. National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent — who ran twice, unsuccessfully, for Congress in Southwest Washington’s 3rd Congressional District — said on X that the U.S. should immediately begin "rounding up" and deporting all Afghans who resettled in the country.

How Lakanwal arrived in the U.S.

Former President Joe Biden launched the program Aug. 29, 2021, directing the Department of Homeland Security to lead efforts to resettle vulnerable Afghans in the U.S., many for up to two years.

More than 40% of those brought to the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome were eligible Special Immigrant Visas because they worked with the U.S. in some way over the prior two decades, or were related to someone who did. Others were allowed to resettle in the U.S. for humanitarian reasons, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Lakanwal was paroled into the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome on Sept. 8, 2021, according to a statement Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Lakanwal worked with the CIA in Afghanistan, but did not specify what he did for the agency.

Lakanwal and his family fled Taliban threats and were granted resettlement in the U.S. on humanitarian grounds, according to CBS. Lakanwal applied for asylum with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service in 2024 and his application was granted this year, with his request for a green card still pending, the outlet reported.

It is unclear how Lakanwal ended up in Bellingham. A spokesperson for the city declined to comment Friday on the city’s refugee population totals.

Under Operation Allies Welcome, 3,273 refugees have arrived in Washington, according to the state Department of Social and Health Services.

Afghanistan is the top country of origin for newly arrived refugee applicants in Washington. From October 2024 to June 2025, there were 2,158 Afghan applicants, compared with 371 applications from Ukraine, which had the second-highest number.

Many Afghan refugees were resettled through local agencies in Clark, King, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane and Whatcom counties, according to an October 2021 report by the state Department of Social and Health Services.

A 'rigorous screening and vetting process'

Every Afghan evacuee underwent a "rigorous screening and vetting process" before being resettled in the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The U.S. deployed about 400 personnel from federal agencies like Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Secret Service to sites across the world to process, screen and vet people on a case-by-case basis, according to Homeland Security.

Intelligence, law enforcement and counterterrorism professionals reviewed fingerprints, photos and biographic data of every person before they were cleared to travel into the U.S. Anyone who failed a background check overseas was not permitted to board a flight to the U.S., according to Homeland Security.

Afghans underwent a primary inspection upon arriving in the U.S., and Customs and Border Patrol was authorized to deny anyone entry into the country if there were security concerns. Those granted resettlement were briefed on U.S. laws and rights and the conditions of their parole, including that any illegal activity could lead to their prosecution or imprisonment or loss of their immigration status, according to Homeland Security.

Operation Allies Welcome followed a much shorter timeline than the typical U.S. resettlement process, which includes a vetting process that can take up to two years, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

In those cases, U.S. immigration officials perform background checks and in-person interviews, using lines of questioning crafted to elicit information about any involvement in terrorist or criminal activity, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

What help did U.S. give to those resettling?

Starting July 30, 2021, thousands of evacuated Afghans arrived at eight "safe havens" — U.S. military bases in West Virginia, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Texas, New Jersey and Indiana. There, they received medical and mental health services and vaccinations and were connected with nongovernmental organizations to help them with resettlement, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

More than 200 organizations coordinated with federal officials on resettlement efforts, including faith-based organizations, advocacy groups and state and local governments. Placement for each evacuee factored in any U.S. family or friends, housing availability, "community capacity and a person's needs, according to Homeland Security.

Those granted humanitarian parole were eligible for eight months for cash and medical assistance, help preparing for and finding jobs and English language training.

It's unclear what assistance Lakanwal received, or where in the U.S. he was placed before he arrived in Bellingham.

Lakanwal spent about a month starting in July as an Amazon Flex independent contractor. He delivered packages to about 50 blocks total and hasn’t been active since, an Amazon spokesperson said Friday. His employment history before that is unclear.

Authorities believe he and his family lived in Bellingham’s Walton Place housing complex, which provides rent-restricted units for residents not exceeding certain incomes based on household size. The screening also required a criminal background check.

Walton Place was quiet just over 24 hours after the FBI swarmed the unit where authorities believe Lakanwal and his family lived.

Whether because of the holiday weekend or buzzing media attention, few residents could be seen moving about the complex.

An apparent dent on a bright yellow door smashed in by authorities was the only sign anything was out of the ordinary.

Seattle Times staff reporters Kai Uyehara and Paige Cornwell contributed to this story.

© 2025 The Seattle Times. Visit www.seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.