Houston Daily

Congressman Wesley Hunt has requested that Director Edlow, head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, provide a full disclosure of the vetting process used for Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal. The request follows an attack in Washington, D.C., which resulted in the death of Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and left Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe severely injured.

In his formal letter to Director Edlow, Congressman Hunt questioned how Lakanwal was allowed entry into the United States. Multiple news sources, including NPR and ABC, have reported that Lakanwal entered the country through the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program.

The SIV program was expanded by the HOPE Act of 2021, legislation authored by Senator John Cornyn and Senator Alex Padilla. This act authorized 50,000 additional visas for Afghan contractors.

Congressman Hunt criticized policies such as the HOPE Act, stating: "Policies like the HOPE Act have recklessly opened the door for dangerous individuals to enter our country, putting Americans at risk and compromising our national security."

He further stated: "The American people deserve answers. They deserve accountability. And they deserve to know why, under the Biden Administration, Washington’s leadership continues to place the interests of foreign nationals above the safety of American citizens."

Wesley Hunt has represented Texas's 38th District in Congress since 2023. He won re-election in 2024 against Melissa McDonough with nearly 63 percent of the vote and previously defeated Duncan Klussmann in 2022 with a similar margin.

Hunt was born in Houston in 1981 and currently resides there.