White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday underscored what she described as widespread exploitation of the U.S. asylum process, stressing the administration’s support for mass deportations following a Washington, D.C., shooting that killed one National Guard member and critically injured another last week.
During her remarks, Leavitt also honored the two soldiers by invoking the words of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of John.
Turning to the two National Guard members shot by Afghan refugee Rahmanullah Lakanwal just blocks from the White House last Wednesday, Leavitt highlighted their character by quoting John 15:13.
U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died the following day, while U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolf remains in critical condition. Lakanwal was charged with first-degree murder last Friday.
Leavitt said, “Sarah and Andrew represent the very best of America — two young patriots who were willing to put on the uniform and risk their lives in defense of their fellow Americans. Both of them truly embody the profound words spoken by Jesus Christ in the Gospel: ‘Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.’”
She continued by calling for strict accountability: “Sarah and Andrew are heroes, and we will never forget their sacrifice. That means ensuring the monster responsible for this atrocity is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and faces the most severe punishment possible. It also means reckoning with why this atrocity was allowed to happen in the first place, so that it may never occur again.”
Leavitt attributed part of the blame for the shooting to former President Joe Biden, noting that Lawanafahl—the name associated with the suspect’s immigration file—entered the United States in 2021 under a program designed for Afghans who had assisted U.S. forces.
Responding to a question about American “national identity,” Leavitt said, “I'll tell you what does not add to our nation’s character and integrity is refugees who come here under the alleged plight of asylum and fleeing persecution, and then come to the United States to abuse our system and rip off American taxpayers.”
To illustrate her concerns, Leavitt pointed to a Nov. 29 New York Times report detailing an alleged large-scale fraud scheme in Minnesota’s social services sector, in which individuals—primarily from the state’s Somali community—are accused of stealing as much as $1 billion over five years by billing state programs for nonexistent aid services.
She also noted that federal prosecutors led by Joseph H. Thompson have charged multiple defendants in connection with the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars from a program meant to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leavitt argued that failures across several presidential administrations have contributed to persistent challenges within the immigration system.
“The hard truth is that even when it comes to our legal immigration system, past presidents have failed to ensure that all prospective citizens love America, will add value and contribute to our communities, and will assimilate into our culture,” she said. “Leaders have a duty to defend and advance the interests of their own people, not foreign nationals.”
