The Kabul Tribune (KT) — U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration
will “permanently pause” migration from what he called “Third World Countries,”
following the killing of a National Guard member near the White House, Reuters
reported on Friday.
Trump's comments mark a sharp escalation in his
administration’s immigration policies after Wednesday’s shooting, which
investigators say was carried out by a 29-year-old Afghan national, Rahmanullah
Lakanwal. According to a U.S. government file seen by Reuters, Lakanwal was
granted asylum earlier this year under Trump but had initially entered the
United States in 2021 through a resettlement program created after the U.S.
withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Trump did not specify which countries would be included in
the pause or clarify what “permanently” means. He said the measure would also
apply to cases approved during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
“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 … and remove anyone who is not a net asset
to the United States,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
He also vowed to end all federal benefits for non-citizens
and said he would “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility,”
adding that any foreign national deemed a security risk or “non-compatible with
Western civilization” would be deported.
The White House and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Trump’s remarks came after the death of 20-year-old National
Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, who was shot in Thursday’s ambush. Another
Guardsman, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, remained in critical condition.
Earlier Thursday, officials from the Department of Homeland
Security said Trump had ordered a broad review of asylum cases approved under
Biden and of Green Cards issued to citizens of 19 countries.
Lakanwal’s presence in the United States—despite having
legal status—has reinforced Trump’s push for sweeping immigration restrictions.
In a separate post, Trump said “hundreds of thousands” of people were brought
into the country “totally unvetted and unchecked” during what he described as
the “horrendous” 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan.
U.S. immigration authorities have since halted all
processing of Afghan-related immigration requests indefinitely.
Trump said his administration aims to significantly reduce
what he called “illegal and disruptive populations,” adding: “Only REVERSE
MIGRATION can fully cure this situation.”
His administration has already deployed additional
immigration officers to major U.S. cities to increase deportations, including
of many long-term residents with no criminal history. ICE statistics show that
more than two-thirds of the roughly 53,000 people detained as of Nov. 15 had no
criminal convictions.
