President Donald Trump has announced sweeping new immigration measures that would sharply restrict entry to the United States from several African, Middle Eastern and Asian countries. The announcement followed the fatal shooting of a U.S. National Guard member near the White House, an incident authorities say was carried out by an Afghan national.
Trump said on Truth Social that his administration will “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries.” He argued the move is necessary to allow the U.S. immigration system to “recover” and to eliminate what he described as security and economic risks.
He also said he intends to cut off federal benefits for noncitizens and revoke the citizenship of migrants he believes undermine public safety or national stability. In addition, he said he will deport foreign nationals he considers a public burden or “non-compatible with Western civilization.”
The policy shift comes after Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from injuries sustained in last week’s shooting. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was critically injured. Investigators identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who arrived in the United States in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a program created after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
Trump pointed to the attack as evidence of failures in the refugee vetting system. He said he would pursue what he called “reverse migration” to reduce populations he described as “illegal and disruptive.”
In additional online posts, Trump blamed previous administrations for what he said were harmful immigration policies. He made several unsupported claims about the size and makeup of the foreign-born population and criticized lawmakers who support refugee programs.
He also repeated previous remarks targeting Somali refugees in Minnesota and criticized Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali-born member of Congress.
On Thursday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow said he had ordered a full review of green cards issued to migrants from countries named in a June 4 presidential proclamation. That list includes a number of African countries, among them Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Togo, Burundi and the Republic of Congo. It also includes Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen and several others.
USCIS said officers may now consider “negative, country-specific factors” when reviewing applications from the 19 designated nations. The updated guidance applies to all cases pending or filed on or after Nov. 27.
Edlow said the changes are intended to restore security procedures he argued were weakened under the Biden administration. Trump has labeled the Washington shooting a “terrorist attack” and said his administration will move quickly to implement the new restrictions.
