True or False: True or false: The alleged shooter in the D.C. incident was an asylum seeker whose case was pending.

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This statement is false. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the alleged shooter, was not an asylum seeker. He was admitted to the United States in 2021 through a different pathway specifically because of his service working with the CIA to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan. He came through the Operation Allies Welcome program that resettled Afghan allies following the U.S. withdrawal, not through the asylum system. This distinction is critically important for evaluating the appropriateness of the asylum freeze as a response to the shooting. Critics pointed out that halting asylum decisions in response to an incident involving someone who was not an asylum seeker was a non-sequitur from a policy standpoint. The asylum system and the Afghan ally resettlement program operate under different legal frameworks, involve different vetting processes, and serve different populations. Using an incident involving one program to justify restrictions on an entirely different system raised questions about whether the shooting was being used as a pretext for pre-planned immigration restrictions.

True or False: True or false: The alleged shooter in the D.C. incident was an asylum seeker whose case was pending.

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