President Donald Trump condemned from his Mar-a-Lago resort in FloridaIt described the attack as a “terrorist act” and blamed the Biden administration for accepting the alleged shooter after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
DW Fact Check reviewed Trump’s key claims.
Trump’s claim of “20 million immigrants” does not hold true
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 have increased under Biden, Trump’s figures are far from reality.
According to an analysis by the Migration Policy InstituteBased on official data, including from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), by July 2024, “more than 5.8 million migrants had been 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 across the country, the Homeland Security Committee reports.However, these are not unique individuals – many were counted multiple times,
Pew Research Center estimatesThe “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 on record. Growth slowed significantly in the second half of 2024 after the Biden administration halted asylum processing at the border and suspended parole programs.
Even when combined with the estimated number of legal immigrants, the total number 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, Donald Trump cited DHS information indicating that the suspect had entered the US during Biden’s presidency, but he omitted the fact that his own administration had previously granted asylum to the Afghan suspect.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, posted on 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 an official statement on the DHS website,
A relative of the suspect speaks to NBC Newsconfirmed his entry into the US in September 2021 and said he served in the Afghan army for 10 years with US Special Forces soldiers.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe also confirmed this in an 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.”
Actually, Operation Allies Welcome It was launched by DHS on August 29, 2021 under Biden’s administration. The goal of the operation was to rehabilitate vulnerable Afghans, including those who had assisted US efforts in Afghanistan, following the withdrawal of US troops from the country. The suspect in the shooting was also included among them.
However, several American media outlets (e.g. CNN) reported based on “law enforcement sources” that the Afghan man applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted it in April 2025 under the Trump administration. 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, which will expire in 2023As of publication, DHS has not confirmed details about the suspect’s condition at the time of the asylum application, despite inquiries by DW Fact Check,
No evidence of Somali immigrants “taking over” Minnesota
In his statement, Trump also talked about another immigrant group and blamed them for “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.” Donald Trump said in his remarks.
DW Fact Check: uncertified
Neither Trump’s claims about the number of Somali immigrants nor his accusation that they are exploiting the country are supported by the facts.
President Trump had announced the plans just a few days ago 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 immediately ending the Temporary Protected Status (TPS program) for Somalis in Minnesota. 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!” Trump wroteOn its platform, Truth Social.
Minnesota’s Somali community faces scrutiny after the publication of an investigation titled “Al-Shabab’s largest funder is Minnesota taxpayers,” At the conservative publication City Journal. It alleged massive welfare fraud schemes; Some are linked to informal money transfers to Somalia. Reports suggest that funds have reached al-Shabaab, but this has not been confirmed by official prosecutions.
Indeed, the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota and the Office of the Inspector General are leading the appropriate investigation. Prosecutors have confirmedThese cases go far beyond overbilling – they often involve shell companies and organized fraud rings. But the claim that terrorism is funded with taxpayers’ money is unverified. So far, only individual Somali Americans have been charged with fraud.
The Somali population in the United States has grown steadily over the past three decadesAccording to the 2020 US Census221,043 people identified as Somali, either alone or with other backgrounds.
2023 American Community Survey (ACS) There were 169,799 persons of Somali ancestry found in the United States, many of whom were born in the US, while 92,401 were born in Somalia.
Minnesota hosts the largest Somali community in the United States, with an estimated 87,000 residents.,
Trump’s comments mix the facts with exaggerations and omissions. While the Afghan suspect entered under Biden’s evacuation program, his asylum status appears to have been finalized under Trump. Claims of “20 million immigrants” and the US being “snatched” by Somali communities lack factual support.
Edited by: Rachel Begg
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