President Donald Trump has announced that he will “permanently pause” immigration from all so-called Third World countries and “remove” anyone in the U.S. who he says is not a “net asset” to the country.
Why It Matters
The shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday — allegedly by a man from Afghanistan — has revived debates over security and immigration vetting.
Trump is using the incident to reinforce his broader immigration agenda, a central pillar of his second term in the White House.
If carried out, his plan would upend the lives of countless prospective migrants and their families, while energizing his supporters at home and in other Western countries where similar hard-line policies are being pushed.
What To Know
In a post on Truth Social, Trump argued that immigration has weakened technological progress and living standards for many Americans.
“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, or is incapable of loving our Country,” he said.
He added that he intends to end all federal benefits and subsidies for noncitizens, “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility,” and deport any foreign national he deems a public charge, security risk or “non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
Trump officials have argued that former President Joe Biden and his administration misused legal immigration pathways — including asylum and refugee channels — as large numbers of immigrants arrived at the southern border or sought other routes into the U.S. between 2021 and 2025.
The current White House has sharply curtailed refugee admissions, capping applications at about 7,500 for the coming year.
This is not the first time Trump has issued broad restrictions. In 2017, he blocked immigration and travel from seven majority-Muslim countries. After legal challenges, the order was revised and ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018, before being rescinded by Biden in 2021.
In June of this year, Trump reinstated and broadened the ban to cover citizens from 12 countries, citing national security concerns after an Egyptian national allegedly attacked a pro-Israel rally in Colorado.
Human rights organizations have condemned the latest moves. Amnesty International USA warned the policy would fuel “disinformation and hate,” while Human Rights First said the measures would harm refugees, asylum seekers and other vulnerable groups.
Supporters of Trump counter that he has a clear mandate to tackle what they describe as illegal and dangerous immigration, and insist that the U.S. has every right to strictly police its borders.
What People Are Saying
In his post, Trump wrote:
“These goals will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations, including those admitted through an unauthorized and illegal Autopen approval process. Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation. Other than that, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for — You won’t be here for long!”
What Happens Next
Legal challenges to Trump’s latest immigration decree are widely expected, setting up another court battle over the scope of presidential power on immigration and national security.
