US President Donald Trump said his administration will work to permanently halt migration from all “Third World Countries”, announcing sweeping new immigration measures following the fatal shooting of a National Guard member near the White House.
Trump said on Truth Social that he will end all federal benefits and subsidies to “noncitizens,” and will “denaturalise migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any foreign national who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western civilization.”
The comments came after the death of US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and critical injuries to US Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, in what investigators say was an ambush carried out by Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
Trump wrote, “Even as we have progressed technologically, Immigration Policy has eroded those gains and living conditions for many. 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 these goals will be pursued to achieve a “major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations,” and asserted, “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!”
He told service members on Thursday that Beckstrom had died of her injuries. Lakanwal, 29, had entered the United States through the Biden-era ‘Operation Allies Welcome’ program after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
In another post, Trump criticised those who he said enabled harmful immigration policies.
He wrote, “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… for being ‘Politically Correct,’ and just plain STUPID, when it comes to Immigration.”
He claimed the US foreign-born population stands at “53 million people, most of which are on welfare, from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels.”
He added, “They and their children are supported through massive payments from Patriotic American Citizens… They put up with what has happened to our Country, but it’s eating them alive to do so!” T
rump also said a migrant earning USD 30,000 with a Green Card receives “roughly USD 50,000 in yearly benefits.”
He argued that the “refugee burden” is causing “failed schools, high crime, urban decay, overcrowded hospitals, housing shortages, and large deficits.”
He also said refugees from Somalia are “completely taking over” Minnesota and attacked Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, saying she is “always wrapped in her swaddling hijab… does nothing but hatefully complain about our Country.”
Trump also posted a photo of Afghan evacuees in a military plane, calling it “part of the horrendous airlift from Afghanistan,” adding, “We will fix it, but will never forget what Crooked Joe Biden and his Thugs did to our Country!”
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow said he has “directed a full scale, rigorous re-examination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.” He wrote, “The protection of this country and of the American people remains paramount, and the American people will not bear the cost of the prior administration’s reckless resettlement policies.”
USCIS said its updated guidance is effective immediately for all requests pending or filed on or after November 27, 2025. Officers may now consider “negative, country-specific factors” when reviewing applications from 19 high-risk nations, including Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Myanmar, Cuba, Libya, Sudan, Venezuela, and Yemen. These countries match those listed in Trump’s June proclamation restricting entry of foreign nationals for national security reasons.
The agency also noted that refugee resettlement from Afghanistan and entry of Afghan nationals had already been halted in Trump’s first year in office. Edlow said, “My primary responsibility is to ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible,” adding that recent events show the Biden administration “spent the last four years dismantling basic vetting and screening standards.”
Trump labelled the shooting a “terrorist attack.” Asked about reports that Lakanwal had previously worked with the CIA and had been vetted, Trump said the man “went cuckoo. I mean, he went nuts. And that happens too often with these people.”