National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC ) Director Joe Kent testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security on Thursday, presenting alarming statistics about security vulnerabilities during the previous administration’s immigration policies.
According to Kent, around 18,000 individuals with connections to known terrorist groups entered the country under President Joe Biden, marking what Trump administration officials are calling a national security failure.
Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries the following day on Thanksgiving in what authorities described as a targeted attack. Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition.
Lakanwal now faces first-degree murder charges, along with possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and assault with intent to kill while armed. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced federal prosecutors would seek the death penalty.
During his testimony, Kent specifically referenced Lakanwal’s vetting history, claiming the Biden administration misused military-level background checks intended for Afghanistan to facilitate entry into the United States. “The Biden administration essentially used his tactical-level vetting as a ruse to bring him here,” Kent said.
Kent acknowledged that roughly 88,000 Afghans entered the country through Operation Allies Welcome, the Biden-era program launched in August 2021 as U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan. Among these arrivals, he identified approximately 2,000 individuals with ties to terrorist organizations currently under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the NCTC, and the FBI.
The NCTC director added that the 18,000 figure represents only those with documented ties to known and suspected terrorists—a number he emphasized excludes countless others whose backgrounds remain unverified due to the chaotic circumstances surrounding their arrival.
“What we have identified is alarming,” Kent said during his testimony, framing the situation as potentially the most pressing terrorism threat currently facing the homeland.
The group called for a fact-based examination of what happened while emphasizing that one individual’s actions should not define an entire community.
Following the Nov. 26 shooting, federal immigration authorities took action with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services halting all asylum decisions for Afghan nationals, announcing that applicants would not be processed “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.” Simultaneously, the State Department paused visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports.
President Donald Trump called the shooting “an act of evil, an act of hatred, and an act of terror,” demanding a reinvestigation of all Afghan nationals brought to the United States during Biden’s administration.
