Refugee groups worry about backlash after shooting of National Guard soldiers in DC

SEATTLE (AP) — People who work with refugees are worried that those who fled dangerous situations to start again in America will face backlash after authorities say an Afghan national shot two National Guard soldiers this week.

Many Afghans living in the U.S. are afraid to leave their houses, fearing they’ll be swept up by immigration officials or attacked with hate speech, said Shawn VanDiver, president of the San Diego-based group #AfghanEvac, a group that helps resettle Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the two-decade war.

“They’re terrified. It’s insane,” VanDiver told The Associated Press Thursday. “People are acting xenophobic because of one deranged man. He doesn’t represent all Afghans. He represents himself.”

Officials say Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, drove from his home in Bellingham, Washington, to the nation’s capital where he shot two West Virginia National Guard members deployed in Washington, D.C. On Thursday, Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remained hospitalized in critical condition.

Lakanwal had worked in a special CIA-backed Afghan Army unit before emigrating from Afghanistan, according to #AfghanEvac and two sources who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.

He applied for asylum during the Biden administration and his asylum was approved this year after undergoing a thorough vetting, the group said.

After the shooting, President Donald Trump said his administration would review everyone who entered from the country under former President Joe Biden — a measure his administration had been planning even before the shooting.

Refugee groups fear they’ll now be considered guilty by association.

Ambassador Ashraf Haidari, founder and president of Displaced International, which provides resources, advocacy and support to displaced people worldwide, said there must be a thorough investigation and justice for those who were harmed, “but even as we pursue accountability, one individual’s alleged actions cannot be allowed to define, burden, or endanger entire communities who had no part in this tragedy.”

Matthew Soerens, a vice president with World Relief, a Christian humanitarian organization that helps settle refugees, including Afghan nationals in Whatcom County, Washington, said the person responsible for the shooting should face justice under the law.

“Regardless of the alleged perpetrator’s nationality, religion or specific legal status, though,” he said, “we urge our country to recognize these evil actions as those of one person, not to unfairly judge others who happen to share those same characteristics.”