WASHINGTON D.C., United States — President Donald Trump announced a significant escalation of his hardline immigration policy, stating he would implement a “permanent pause” on migration to the United States from all “third world countries.”
The declaration, made in a late-night post on his social media platform, Truth Social, was framed as a measure necessary to allow the U.S. system to recover from policies that have, in his view, eroded the “gains and living conditions” of many Americans.
The president’s post, which he introduced as a “Happy Thanksgiving salutation,” was filled with anti-immigrant language and did not immediately provide specific details on which nations would be affected by the ban, though “third world” traditionally refers to poorer, developing nations.
“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover,” the president wrote.
Security crackdown follows fatal shooting
The flurry of immigration announcements follows a shooting in Washington D.C. where an Afghan national was accused of attacking two members of the National Guard, resulting in the death of one, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia.
The second victim, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, was said by President Trump to be “fighting for his life.” Beckstrom had volunteered to work in the city over the Thanksgiving holiday as part of a National Guard deployment intended to crack down on crime.
President Trump styled the attack as an “act of terror,” immediately leveraging the incident to toughen his stance on border security and vetting protocols.
Vetting protocols under review
The administration’s initial response to the attack included several punitive actions targeting foreign nationals:
- Suspension of Afghan Immigration: The U.S. suspended the processing of all immigration requests from Afghan nationals, pending a review of “security and vetting protocols.”
- Green Card re-examination: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it would re-examine the validity of green cards issued to individuals who migrated from 19 specific countries. When questioned, the agency cited a June proclamation listing nations including Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Somalia, and Venezuela. No further details were provided on what the re-examination would entail.
The suspect in the DC shooting, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was confirmed to have entered the U.S. in 2021 under a program offering special immigration protections to Afghans who assisted U.S. forces following the American withdrawal. He was granted asylum earlier this year.
Pledge to end benefits and blame on refugees
In his lengthy post, the president went further than the immediate security measures, pledging to “end all federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens.”
Trump specifically blamed refugees for causing “social dysfunction in America” and vowed to remove “anyone who is not a net asset” to the country.
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He singled out Minnesota, blaming Democratic lawmakers and alleging that “hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia were completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota.”
Neither the White House nor USCIS has provided further details on the implementation plan for the permanent migration pause.
The new policy builds on previous travel bans imposed during his first term and earlier this year, which targeted nationals from Afghanistan and several other countries, primarily in Africa and Asia.
