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Washington was rocked on November 26 when two West Virginia National Guard members were ambushed near Farragut West, leaving Specialist Sarah Beckstrom dead and her comrade fighting for his life. This wasn’t a random act of street violence — it was a targeted attack on the men and women who volunteered to stand between the American people and chaos. The facts are grim and straightforward: our soldiers were hurt while doing their duty on American soil.
Investigators have identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who came to the United States under Operation Allies Welcome and who reportedly had ties to CIA-backed units in Afghanistan. That background — the combination of foreign paramilitary training and subsequent resettlement here — raises glaring questions about how our vetting systems allowed this man into our country and put him within striking distance of our capital. Americans deserve answers about who was approved, why, and which agencies dropped the ball.
On Fox News’ The Story, Rep. Mike Lawler made the right, unvarnished point: the current administration’s immigration and vetting policies have created a crisis that must be unwound. Lawler was blunt about the need for a course correction instead of more political excuses, and his message echoes what countless families and frontline public servants are demanding right now. If Republicans are serious about protecting Americans, they should back lawmakers who push for immediate fixes.
This tragedy exposes the predictable consequences of soft-on-security policies that prioritize bureaucracy and optics over common-sense safeguards. Programs meant to help our allies in Afghanistan became pipelines that, in some cases, handed the wrong people residency or asylum without adequate oversight, and that failure has real victims. It is not xenophobia to insist on competent vetting; it is patriotism to insist on safety for our troops and citizens.
President Trump moved quickly to halt asylum decisions and ordered a broad review of green cards and parole procedures for nationals from countries of concern, a necessary pause while investigators and immigration officials get their bearings. The administration is right to treat this as a national security problem and not merely an immigration talking point; the safety of Americans must come first. Americans will judge leaders by whether they protect the country or apologize for its defenders.
Law enforcement and prosecutors appear prepared to pursue the harshest penalties available as the evidence is developed, and that firmness is the correct posture when a service member is killed in the line of duty. We should demand not only justice for Specialist Beckstrom and her family but also structural accountability from the agencies that shipped people here with insufficient safeguards. Loopholes and bureaucratic softness cannot be the cost of compassion.
Hardworking Americans shouldn’t be expected to accept preventable tragedies as the price of good intentions. We owe it to the fallen and the living to overhaul vetting, close dangerous loopholes, and hold negligent officials accountable, regardless of party. Stand with representatives like Mike Lawler and with every guard and policeman who puts their life on the line — and demand a government that defends its people first.
