Donald Trump announces new plan to suspend immigration. Credit: Rawpixel.com, Shutterstock
US President Donald Trump has sparked a new political firestorm by vowing to “permanently end immigration from all Third World countries.” The phrase quickly drew criticism as outdated and offensive. The announcement came late on Thanksgiving Day, amid heightened tensions over the shooting of two National Guard soldiers by an Afghan near the White House.
It is one of President Trump’s most far-reaching statements yet on immigration, and it comes at a vulnerable time for the United States, where national security concerns and political messages are once again colliding.
Strong promises after the White House shooting
Trump’s posts on the Truth Social platform were frank and unapologetic. He has promised to temporarily close the door on immigrants from “Third World countries” and to remove those who he says are “not a net asset” to the nation.
I frowned at the timing. Just a day earlier, a 29-year-old Afghan man who entered the United States in 2021 through Operation Arise Welcome, a program created to resettle Afghans assisting U.S. troops, was arrested in connection with a shooting Wednesday that targeted two West Virginia National Guard soldiers on patrol in downtown Washington.
President Trump immediately linked the attack to what he called a “broken” immigration system and promised a fundamental rethink of who is allowed to stay in the country.
He went further and said:
- Eliminate federal benefits for all noncitizens;
- denaturalizing immigrants who are deemed to undermine “domestic tranquility”;
- deporting those labeled as “public offenses” or “security risks”;
- and abolish a special visa route for Afghans who cooperated with the U.S. military before the Taliban takeover.
His message was clear. The rules will change quickly and quickly.
Green card under scrutiny: 19 countries fly flag
Even before President Trump’s late-night declaration, the administration was already taking action.
On Wednesday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) froze all immigration applications from Afghan nationals pending security screening.
Hours later, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow confirmed in X that he had ordered a complete reexamination of all green cards issued to immigrants from 19 “countries of concern.”
These countries flagged in June’s presidential proclamation include:
Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Cuba, Venezuela, Chad, Eritrea and others have been identified as having weak security and vetting systems.
Critics say the measure risks punishing legal residents solely on the basis of their nationality and could affect tens of thousands of green card holders who have not committed a crime.
So far, USCIS has not said whether the review could lead to mass deportations or revocations. It’s also unclear how Trump’s new pledge to completely cut off immigration from developing countries will interact with the existing review.
Policy situation full of uncertainty
The White House insists the move is about national security, especially after two soldiers were seriously injured in the attack in Washington. Officials said the Afghan suspect acted alone.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has already authorized the deployment of 500 additional National Guard troops to the nation’s capital, joining the more than 2,200 troops already patrolling as part of President Trump’s controversial anti-crime and anti-immigration crackdown.
But while the political message has become clearer, the outcome of these new migration movements remains highly uncertain.
Will legal residents also be targeted?
Will the long-standing visa program be abolished?
And how far is the administration willing to go in the name of national security?
For now, the only certainty is that this debate has entered yet another explosive phase. That stage is likely to dominate headlines well beyond Thanksgiving.
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