One of two National Guard members seriously injured in a shooting near the White House on Wednesday has died, while the other is fighting for his life. according to US law enforcement sourcesThe suspect is a 29-year-old Afghan refugee who entered the US in September 2021.
From his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, President Trump condemnedIt described the attack as a “terrorist act” and blamed the administration of former US President Joe Biden for allowing the alleged shooter into the country after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
DW Fact Check reviewed Trump’s key claims.
Trump’s ’20 million immigrants’ claim makes no sense
claim: “The last administration let in 20 million unidentified and unvetted foreigners from around the world,” Donald Trump said in his remarks.
DW Fact Check: false
While immigration numbers increased under Biden, Trump’s figures are far from reality.
according to a Analysis by the Migration Policy InstituteBased on official data, including from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), from 2021–24, “more than 5.8 million migrants were paroled into the country or otherwise permitted entry to pursue asylum applications and other immigration cases.”
Since Biden took office in January 2021, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has recorded nearly 10.8 million encounters nationwide from October 2021 to September 2024, according to the House Committee on Homeland Security. informedHowever, these are not single individuals – many people were counted multiple times,
Pew Research Center EstimateThe “unauthorized immigrant” population in the US is set to reach 14 million in 2023, up from 3.5 million during Biden’s first two years, the largest figure on record. Growth slowed significantly in the second half of 2024 after the Biden administration shut down asylum processing at the border and suspended parole programs.
Even if we combine the 5.8 million immigrants counted by DHS from 2021-24 with the number of unauthorized immigrants estimated by the Pew Research Center for the Biden administration, the total does not reach 20 million.
What is known about the alleged shooter?
claim: Trump’s statement about the shooter: “Based on the best available information, the Department of Homeland Security believes the suspect in custody is an alien who entered our country from Afghanistan… He was brought over by the Biden Administration in September 2021 on one of those infamous flights everyone was talking about… His status was extended under legislation signed by President Biden.”
DW Fact Check: Truth
In his statement, Trump cited DHS information indicating that the Afghan suspect had entered the US during Biden’s presidency, but he omitted the fact that his own administration had previously granted him asylum.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Posted by x The suspect was “one of several unvetted, largely paroled people released into the United States under Operation Ally’s Welcome under the Biden administration on September 8, 2021.” His message was also published as a Official statement on DHS website,
a relative of the suspect, Speaking to NBC Newsconfirmed his entry into the US in September 2021 and said the suspect had served in the Afghan military for 10 years with US special forces.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe also confirmed this in a statement Interview with Fox News Digital The Afghan national had worked with various government entities in the past “as a member of a partner force in Kandahar” and claimed that the Biden administration was “justified in bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 because of his prior work with the U.S. government.”
In fact, operations assistant welcome It was launched by DHS on August 29, 2021 under Biden’s administration. Its goal was to rehabilitate vulnerable Afghans, including those who had assisted American efforts in Afghanistan, following the withdrawal of American troops. One of the Afghans being resettled was a suspect in the DC shootings.
However, many American media outlets (eg cnn) have reported, based on “law enforcement sources”, that he applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted it in April 2025 when Trump returned to office. DW Fact Check has not been able to independently verify this information.
Most Afghans recruited under the program initially received two years of humanitarian parole, and in the case of suspects, Expires in 2023As of publication, DHS had not confirmed details about the suspect’s status at the time of the asylum application, despite inquiries by DW Fact Check,
No evidence of Somali immigrants ‘taking over’ Minnesota
In his remarks this week, Trump also talked about another immigrant group, accusing them of “snatching” and “tearing to pieces” the state of Minnesota.
claim: “One example is Minnesota, where thousands of Somalis are plundering our country and tearing apart our once great state.” Trump said.
DW Fact Check: uncertified
Neither Trump’s claims about the number of Somali immigrants nor his accusation that they are exploiting the US are supported by the facts.
Trump recently Plans announced Ending temporary deportation protections for Somalis living in Minnesota. “Minnesota, under Governor Waltz, is a hotbed of counterfeit money laundering activity. I, as President of the United States, am ending the Temporary Protected Status (TPS program) for Somalis in Minnesota, effective immediately. Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great state, and billions of dollars are missing. Send them back where they came from. It’s over!” us President wroteOn its platform, Truth Social.
Minnesota’s Somali community has faced scrutiny following the publication of a report called “Al-Shabab’s largest funder is Minnesota taxpayers,”By City Journal, a public policy magazine and website run by the conservative think tank Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. It alleges that there are large-scale welfare fraud schemes in the state and some linked to informal money transfers to Somalia. It also suggests that funds may have reached Somalia-based jihadist terrorist organization al-Shabaab, but this has not been confirmed by official prosecutions.
The Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota and the Office of Inspector General are currently investigating the case. Prosecutors have ConfirmedThese cases go far beyond overbilling – they often involve shell companies and organized fraud rings. But the claim that terrorism has been funded by taxpayers’ money is unverified. So far, only individual Somali-American citizens have been charged with fraud.
Somali population in America has continuously increased in the last three decadesaccording to 2020 us census221,043 people identified as Somali, either alone or with other backgrounds.
2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 169,799 persons of Somali origin were found in America. many
were born in the US, while 92,401 were born in Somalia.
Minnesota hosts the largest Somali community in the US, estimated at 87,000,
Trump’s comments appear to mix the facts with exaggerations and omissions. While the Afghan suspect entered under Biden’s evacuation program, the process for his asylum status appears to have been finalized under Trump. Claims of approximately “20 million immigrants” and the US “snapping” Somali communities lack factual support.
Edited by: Rachel Begg