Trump says US will ‘permanently stop’ immigration from ‘third world countries’

Donald Trump says he will “permanently halt” all immigration to the United States from “third world countries.”

The US president wrote in a post on The Truth Society that the decision would “allow the US system to “fully recover” from immigration policies that have eroded the “benefits and living conditions” of many Americans. He did not provide details of the plan or reveal which countries might be affected.

Trump’s comments came a day after an Afghan national was charged with shooting two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., one of whom died.

That statement, and others since the attacks, signaled a further hardening of Trump’s stance on immigration, which has long been one of his key issues.

Trump previously said Wednesday’s shooting in Washington, D.C., highlighted a major threat to national security and pledged to take steps to expel any foreigners “from any country that doesn’t belong here.”

The same day, the United States suspended processing all immigration requests from Afghans, saying the decision was pending a review of “security and vetting protocols.”

Then on Thursday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it would re-examine green cards issued to individuals immigrating to the United States from 19 countries.

When the BBC asked which countries were on the list, the agency pointed out that Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Somalia and Venezuela were included in the White House announcement in June.

There were no further details about the re-examination.

Trump’s strongly worded two-part post Thursday night went a step further, pledging to “end all federal benefits and subsidies for non-citizens.”

The president also blamed refugees for causing “dysfunctional American society” and vowed to expel “anyone who is not part of the net worth of the United States” from the United States.

Trump called the post “Happy Thanksgiving,” which was filled with anti-immigrant language.

“Hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia are completely taking over the once great state of Minnesota,” he said, specifically targeting the state’s Democratic lawmakers.

“I will permanently suspend immigration from all Third World countries to allow the American system to fully recover,” the president wrote.

The term “Third World” used to describe poorer developing countries.

The White House and USCIS have not provided further details on Trump’s plan.

Earlier this year, the president had imposed a travel ban on nationals of Afghanistan and 11 other countries, mostly in Africa and Asia. During his first term, another travel ban was enacted targeting some Muslim-majority countries.

A series of announcements followed after officials said Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the suspect in the Washington, D.C., shootings, came to the United States in 2021.

Mr. Lakanwal’s trip was under a program that provides special immigration protections to Afghans who have cooperated with U.S. troops after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

By then, the Taliban had regained control of Afghanistan, and there were fears of reprisals for those who cooperated with the United States. The current director of the CIA said that Lakanvar worked with the CIA.

An official told BBC US partner CBS News that Mr Lakanvar applied for asylum in 2024 and was approved earlier this year.

He was arrested after the attack and allegedly failed to cooperate with authorities.

Trump characterized the attack as a “terrorist act.”

The next day he said one of the two National Guard members allegedly shot had died.

He said Sarah Backstrom died from her injuries. The 20-year-old from West Virginia was working in the city as part of Trump’s effort to deploy the National Guard to fight crime.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said she volunteered to work in Washington, D.C., during the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

The second National Guard member was 24-year-old Andrew Wolf, who Trump said was “fighting for his life.”

Follow the twists and turns of Trump’s second term with North American journalist Anthony Zurcher’s weekly newsletter American politics has not developed communication. British readers can Register here. People outside the UK can Register here.