Former U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to “permanently pause” migration from what he described as “Third World Countries,” following a shooting near the White House. Trump attributed the incident to what he called failures in immigration vetting during President Joe Biden’s administration.
In a statement posted on his social media platform Truth Social on Thursday, Trump did not specify which countries he considered “Third World” nor clarify what he meant by “permanently pause” migration. He said the plan would affect cases approved under the Biden administration.
“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States,” Trump wrote.
He also said he would end federal benefits and subsidies for “non-citizens,” denaturalize migrants he considered a threat to domestic stability, and deport foreign nationals deemed public charges, security risks, or “non-compatible with Western civilization.”
The announcement followed the death of a National Guard member who was shot near the White House in an attack reportedly carried out by an Afghan national.
According to a U.S. government file seen by Reuters, the alleged gunman, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was granted asylum this year and had entered the U.S. in 2021 through a resettlement program initiated after the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, which led to the Taliban’s takeover.
Prior to the announcement, Trump criticized the Biden administration’s evacuation from Afghanistan, saying hundreds of thousands entered the U.S. “unvetted and unchecked.” In response to the attack, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it would indefinitely halt processing of immigration requests related to Afghan nationals.
“These goals will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations,” Trump said. “Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation.”
Although the attacker was in the country legally, the incident has reinforced Trump’s focus on stricter immigration policies. Throughout his presidency, he has emphasized tightening both legal and illegal immigration, and this case has allowed him to expand the debate to include broader vetting measures.
