A fierce debate over U.S. immigration policy intensified on Thursday after President Donald Trump declared that his government will impose a sweeping halt on migration from what he called “Third World Countries.”
His announcement came shortly after a National Guard member was killed near the White House, an attack he tied to failures he blamed on screening systems used during Joe Biden’s time in office.
Trump made the declaration through a message on Truth Social, where he said the freeze would include cases approved under the previous administration, though he gave no explanation of which countries fall under the phrase “Third World” or how long the pause would last.
His message pointed to a broad rollback of immigration pathways and benefits.
“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,” he wrote.
He added that his administration plans to block federal support for non-citizens, saying he would “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility” and deport anyone deemed a public charge, a security threat, or “non-compatible with Western civilization.”
There was no immediate response from the White House or the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services when Reuters sought comment.
Trump’s remarks followed public attention on the shooting of a National Guard member near the presidential grounds, which authorities believe was carried out by an Afghan national.
The incident has become a central point in the president’s renewed push for new restrictions.
Earlier in the day, officials from the Department of Homeland Security said Trump had ordered a complete review of asylum decisions made during Biden’s tenure, as well as Green Cards issued to people from 19 different countries.
They did not clarify which nations were on that list or how the review would proceed.
Documents seen by Reuters show that the suspect in the shooting, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, received asylum this year after applying while Trump was in office.
He first arrived in the United States in 2021 through a resettlement program.
That program had been created by the Biden administration following the August 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which led to the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban’s return.
Shortly before announcing the migration freeze, Trump had posted another message arguing that the evacuation from Afghanistan brought “hundreds of thousands” into the country “totally unvetted and unchecked,” calling the airlift “horrendous.”
By Wednesday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed it had suspended all processing of requests involving Afghan citizens, giving no timeline for when the work would restart.
“These goals will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations,” Trump said as he outlined his next steps.
