U.S. President Donald Trump declared that immigrants from third world countries will no longer be allowed into the United States. Trump added that he will deport immigrants who entered during the former Joe Biden administration and strip them of citizenship already granted.
Experts said he seized on the recent revelation that the suspect in the National Guard shooting death in the capital, Washington, D.C., is an Afghan national to justify rolling out a hard-line anti-immigration policy.
According to foreign media including Bloomberg and Reuters on the 27th local time, Trump posted late at night on his social media, Truth Social, for Thanksgiving that he would "permanently halt immigration from all third world countries so the American system can be fully restored." He did not specify which countries he meant by third world. Generally, third world is interpreted as a term referring to countries with slow economic development.
Trump argued that immigrants cause "dysfunction" in American society. He said, "The foreign-born population in the United States stands at 53 million, most from failed countries or from prisons, mental hospitals and criminal organizations," adding, "When a green card holder earns $30,000, the family receives benefits amounting to $50,000 a year." He did not specify a source for the statistics, but he stressed that the expense on immigrant welfare is being covered by American taxpayers' money.
Even while delivering a Thanksgiving greeting, he said, "We will drive out the millions of illegal entrants approved by Biden with an Autopen (automatic signing machine) and remove all those who are not an asset to America or do not love the country," adding, "Those who destroy America will not last long."
The White House area shooting served as a catalyst for the move. On the 26th, near the White House in Washington, D.C., Private First Class Sera Beckstrom, 20, of the National Guard, who was on duty, was shot and killed. With the suspect revealed to be an immigrant of Afghan nationality, U.S. public opinion is seething. Citing the incident, Trump said, "Only reverse migration is the sole solution that can heal this situation."
Trump also escalated attacks on certain regions and individuals. Citing Minnesota, which has many Somali immigrants, he said, "Somali gangs are roaming the streets looking for prey." Minnesota is estimated to be home to as many as 80,000 Somali Americans.
Aiming at Rep. Ilhan Omar of the Democratic Party, who represents Minnesota, he said, "Wearing a hijab, [she] hates the Constitution and only complains," and he harshly criticized, "Her hometown is a decadent and underdeveloped place with no government and no schools."
Trump went on to say, "We will stop all federal-level benefits and subsidies for non-citizens," and "We will denaturalize migrants who undermine public safety and deport foreigners who are a burden to the public or incompatible with Western civilization."
The administration also moved immediately. Joseph Edlow, Director General of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said that day, "Under the president's order, we are conducting a full review of the green cards of all foreign nationals from 'countries of concern.'" Earlier in June, the White House designated 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and Sudan, as subject to immigration restrictions.