A Refugee Group Was Repeatedly Warned That the Killer of the National Guardswoman Was "Spiraling" Into "Mania," But No Official Action Seems to Have Been Taken

A refugee group was repeatedly warned that the National Guardsmen assassin was "spiraling" into mental illness but apparently no law enforcement or immigration courts were alerted.

A leading national refugee agency was warned multiple times that the Afghan terror suspect accused of murdering one National Guard member and critically injuring another was spiraling into mania and mental illness beginning in 2023, according to a bombshell email leak.

Despite this, and an alleged failure to maintain his mandated contact with state social services, he still managed to win asylum in April of this year.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal's behavior was so disturbing that a local community advocate reached out to a refugee organization for help, according to emails to the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) seen by the Associated Press.

"Rahmanullah has not been functional as a person, father, and provider since March of last year [2023]. He quit his job that month, and his behavior has changed greatly," the community member wrote in January 2024.

The community member said he feared that Lakanwal had become suicidal.

...

He was brought to the US in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, moving to Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and their five young sons.

But he reportedly struggled to assimilate, failed to hold down a steady job or commit to learning English, according to the emails.

Alternating between "periods of dark isolation and reckless travel," Lakanwal sometimes spent weeks in his "darkened room, not speaking to anyone, not even his wife or older kids," the person wrote.

During these "manic episodes," he would reportedly "take off in the family car, and drive nonstop," the email outlined, leaving for up to two weeks at a time on his own, driving as far as Chicago or Arizona.

Lakanwal also failed to stay in contact with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) as was mandated by the terms of his entry into the US, except for "interim" weeks where he would "do the right things," according to the emails.

And I guess Washington State didn't alert anyone, either.

He was so depressed that the community member feared he would harm himself, according to the emails.

When his wife would leave him with the kids for a week while she traveled to visit relatives, his children would go to school unwashed and in dirty clothes without having eaten well, according to the person.

The children's school raised concerns about his behavior, and the family even faced eviction at one point in 2023 after months of not paying rent.

In response to two emails, the USCRI tried to visit Lakanwal and his family in Bellingham in March 2024, according to the author of the emails.

After they received no updates, they believed that Lakanwal had refused assistance.

It's unclear whether the community member or USCRI reported the mental distress to immigration authorities or law enforcement.

Trump announced another step to control immigration: work permits will only be issued for 18 months at a time, instead of the five years they're currently issued for.

That means that fraudsters will have to interact with government officials more often, and hopefully more fraud will be discovered and more badly-behaving "asylum seekers" will be kicked out.

The Trump administration is dramatically scaling back the timeframe in which asylum seekers and other foreign nationals can have valid work permits in the U.S.

Work permits issued to foreign nationals who’ve applied for asylum or other humanitarian programs will only be valid for 18 months rather than five years, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Thursday. The decision marks the latest action by the agency tasked with managing the country’s immigration system, since two National Guard members were ambushed by an Afghan man shortly before Thanksgiving.

posted by Ace at 05:43 PM

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