United States President Donald Trump says his administration will “permanently pause” migration from all “Third World Countries”, following the death of a National Guard member in an attack near the White House.
Trump announced this via a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday night.
The announcement marks a further escalation of migration measures Trump has ordered since the shooting on Wednesday that investigators said was carried out by an Afghan national who entered the U.S. in 2021 under a resettlement program.
Trump did not identify any countries by name or explain what he meant by third-world countries or “permanently pause”. The term “Third World” usually refers to developing countries in the Global South.
The president said the plan would include cases approved under 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, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States,” he stated.
Trump said he would end all federal benefits and subsidies for “non-citizens”, adding he would “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility” and deport any foreign national deemed a public charge, security risk, or “non-compatible with Western civilization.”
Suspect identified as Afghan national after shooting 2 National Guard soldiers near White House
Trump’s remarks followed the death on Thursday of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, 20, who was shot in the ambush. Fellow Guardsman Andrew Wolfe also suffered a serious injury in the incident.
Earlier, officials from the Department of Homeland Security said Trump had ordered a widespread review of asylum cases approved under Biden’s administration and Green Cards issued to citizens of 19 countries.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow said “at the direction” of Trump, he had ordered “a full-scale, rigorous re-examination of every green card for every alien from every country of concern”.
“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. American safety is non negotiable,” Edlow wrote on X.
The 19 countries include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
- FG vows to review health workers’ salary, denies rejecting CONHESS report - January 25, 2026
- Why we demolished buildings in Makoko, others ― Lagos govt - January 25, 2026
- 2 injured as drug traffickers attack Customs officers in Ogun - January 25, 2026
