Washington, DC, [US], December 1 : Amid the ongoing chaos over the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members near the White House, US president Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) lambasted the previous Joe Biden administration, accusing its leaders of "screwing the country" by admitting "unchecked and unvetted" immigrants.
The President also hit out at former Vice President Kamala Harris for letting "anyone and everyone come in" to the US, who was responsible for overseeing country's border security policies and immigration enforcement efforts.
"Crooked Joe Biden, Mayorkas, and so-called 'Border Czar' Kamala Harris really screwed our Country by letting anyone and everyone come in totally unchecked and unvetted," Trump posted on Truth Social.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also accused the previous Biden administration of committing an "act of national self-sabotage" by letting immigrants like Lakanwal into the country. The department further stated that immigration requests for Afghan nationals have been suspended indefinitely.
"The monster who carried out the attack in DC should never have been in this country. The Biden Administration let him--and countless others--in, an act of national self-sabotage. Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals has been stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols," Homeland Security said.
Kristi Noem, Secretary at the DHS, has held the previous Joe Biden administration responsible for the killing of National Guard member Spec. Sarah Beckstrom in the White House shooting.
"This individual's application to be in this country started under the Joe Biden administration. The consequences of the shooting and the death of Sarah are directly on the shoulders of Joe Biden and his administration," Noem said while referring to suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal being charged with first-degree murder after one of the two severely wounded National Guard members died.
Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe (24), the other National Guard member, battles for his life as he recovers from severe injuries from the shooting.
Lakanwal (29), who migrated from Afghanistan in 2021 under "Operation Allies Welcome" during Joe Biden's tenure, after the chaotic withdrawal of US forces in Afghanistan.
Speaking on the migration from Afghanistan, Neom argued that the Joe Biden administration didn't conduct a thorough investigation and was lackadaisical in the vetting process.
"If you remember, during that operation, when Afghanistan was abandoned, people were just put on aircraft and brought to the United States. The administration at that time said that they would vet them, but didn't do a thorough investigation," the DHS Secretary said.
However, Neom said, the Trump administration has put in place extensive measures to vet immigrants, including scrutiny of their social media platforms and communications. She stated that it was never done before, and thus, incidents like the Wednesday White House shooting occur.
"They only checked names and a few data points, but President Trump has put in place biometric information, checking social media platforms, communications, and contacts. The Biden administration never did that. He brought them in and said we would vet them later. This is how things like these happen," she added.