Members of the U.S. Green Berets Special Forces are pushing back against President Donald Trump's crackdown on Afghan immigrants after the recent shooting in Washington, D.C., with one chastising the move as "reneging on promises made" in a report from NBC News.
On Nov. 26, an Afghan national opened fire on National Guard members deployed to D.C. by Trump's order, killing one, Sarah Beckstrom, and critically injuring another, Andrew Wolfe. The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was later found to have received CIA paramilitary training in Afghanistan and served in a CIA-backed militia. He first entered the U.S. after the withdrawal of military forces from his home country in 2021. Reports also indicate that he had been suffering from mental health issues in recent months and was struggling financially.
Despite the fact that the suspect's request for asylum was approved by under the Trump administration in 2025, the president has nonetheless responded to the shooting with a crackdown on Afghani immigrants in the U.S., pausing or outright halting asylum proceedings and visa processes.
In response, various Special Forces veterans who worked closely with Afghans during the U.S. militaries extended war in the country told NBC News that the president's new actions are "not fair" and said that many Afghan nationals they are in touch with are "terrified.
“It is definitely not fair to group all Afghans that helped us during our time in Afghanistan in that same basket as this individual,” Benn Hoffman, a Green Beret who served five deployments in Afghanistan, said.
“They’re fearful they’re going to be sent back to a country where we have had documented cases of our guys being killed in retribution attacks," Dave Elliott, another Green Beret and founder of the 1208 Foundation non-profit, said. "These guys didn’t want to leave Afghanistan. They left Afghanistan because the U.S. broke it and handed it back to the Taliban and they had no other choice.”
Afghans who aided U.S. forces during the war have been singled out for retribution by the Taliban, since the group took control of the Afghanistan government in 2021. Because of this, many American servicemembers have advocated for these allies to receive aid from the U.S. and asylum, to make sure they escape potential persecution.
Green Beret Thomas Kasza warned that turning our backs on Afghan allies now could also imperil future Special Forces operations overseas.
“Green Berets are built to operate with and through a host-nation partner,” Kasza explained. “If the future partner of a Special Forces detachment sees America so willing to renege on promises made, how likely is it that they will be willing to put their lives on the line to aid in advancing the interest of another nation that will readily ignore their sacrifice?”
