Trump applies total immigration ban to 'Third World Countries'
US President Donald Trump escalated his immigration crackdown on Thursday by announcing a permanent pause on migration to the US from all "Third World countries".
"I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US 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, or is incapable of loving our Country," Trump said in a Truth Social post.
When asked by Middle East Eye which countries Trump was referring to, the Department of Homeland Security referred MEE to a 4 June 2025 proclamation titled, "Restricting the entry of foreign nationals to protect the United States from foreign terrorists and other national security and public safety threats."
The list of countries includes Afghanistan; Burma; Chad; the Republic of Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Haiti; Iran; Libya; Somalia; Sudan; Yemen; Burundi; Cuba; Laos; Sierra Leone; Togo; Turkmenistan; and Venezuela.
Trump also announced an end to all federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens in the US, the denaturalisation of migrants who “undermine domestic tranquility”, and the deportation of “any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization”.
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The president’s comments follow the shooting on Wednesday of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, at Farragut Square in downtown DC, not far from the White House.
One of the guard members, Sarah Beckstrom, died on Thursday from her injuries, while Andrew Wolfe is said to be in critical condition.
The suspect of the attack was identified as Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakamal, who had worked with the US government, including the CIA, in Afghanistan.
Lakamal arrived in the US as part of the Biden programme, Operation Allies Welcome, but was granted asylum under the Trump administration in April, according to a Reuters report. The same report said Lakamal had no criminal record in Washington State, where he lived.
‘Plain STUPID’
The shooting has emboldened Trump’s rhetoric against immigration. In his social media post, he berated the “politically correct” stance of Americans on immigration.
“A very Happy Thanksgiving salutation to all of our Great American Citizens and Patriots who have been so nice in allowing our Country to be divided, disrupted, carved up, murdered, beaten, mugged, and laughed at, along with certain other foolish countries throughout the World, for being 'Politically Correct,' and just plain STUPID, when it comes to Immigration,” he wrote.
Trump accused most of the US’s foreign population of being “on welfare", adding that they hailed "from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels”.
He claimed that the refugee population was the “leading cause of social dysfunction in America”.
Trump, who has previously made racist remarks about Africa, demeaned Somalis and accused them of taking over the state of Minnesota.
He falsely accused Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of “probably” coming into the US illegally by marrying her brother.
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