In a dramatic shift late Thursday, U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced on social media that the United States will “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries,” a sweeping move he says is needed to allow the American system to “fully recover, according to Al Jazeera News.”
The declaration came in the immediate aftermath of a deadly shooting near the White House involving two members of the National Guard, one of whom was killed, the other seriously wounded. The suspect, an Afghan national relocated under a previous resettlement program, has since been charged with first-degree murder.
In his post, Trump said he would revoke “millions” of what he described as “Biden illegal admissions,” deny federal benefits to noncitizens, and deport any foreign national deemed a “public charge,” a “security risk,” or allegedly “incompatible with Western civilization.” He also threatened to denaturalize migrants he claimed undermine “domestic tranquility.”
Administration officials further said that at the president’s direction, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun a “full-scale, rigorous re-examination” of all green cards issued to individuals from “countries of concern.” Although Trump did not define which nations qualify as “Third World,” analysts note the indefinite nature of the ban which falls outside established norms and could face legal challenges.
Critics and immigrant-rights advocates warn that the move may amount to a mass purge of lawful residents and asylum-seekers, while legal scholars question the constitutional and humanitarian ramifications of barring migration indefinitely. Regardless, the announcement marks a decisive escalation in the administration’s hard-line immigration direction; one that will reshape U.S. policy and reverberate far beyond America’s borders.
