Trump Moves to “Permanently Pause” Migration After White House Attack
Washington, The Gulf Observer: U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that his administration will “permanently pause” migration from what he termed “Third World Countries,” following the death of a National Guard member in a shooting attack near the White House. The move marks a significant escalation in the administration’s immigration policies in the wake of the incident.
The announcement came a day after authorities said an Afghan national, who entered the United States in 2021 under a resettlement program, carried out the attack. Trump did not specify which countries fall under the category of “Third World Countries” or provide details on the scope and implementation of the proposed “permanent pause.” He added that 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, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States,” Trump said in a statement on his social media platform, Truth Social.
The president further said his administration would end all federal benefits and subsidies for “non-citizens,” and vowed to “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility.” He also pledged the deportation of any foreign national determined to be a public charge, security threat, or “non-compatible with Western civilization.”
The White House and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) did not immediately comment on the announcement when contacted by Reuters.
Attack Near White House Prompts Policy Acceleration
The policy declaration followed the death of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, 20, who was fatally shot in the ambush. Another Guardsman, Andrew Wolfe, 24, was reported to be in critical condition.
Earlier on Thursday, officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that Trump had ordered a comprehensive review of asylum cases approved during the Biden administration, as well as a review of Green Cards issued to citizens from 19 countries.
The alleged attacker, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, had been granted asylum this year under the Trump administration, according to U.S. government documentation seen by Reuters. He originally entered the United States under a Biden-era resettlement program created following the August 2021 withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
In a separate statement before announcing the “permanent pause,” Trump criticized the 2021 airlift from Afghanistan, claiming that “hundreds of thousands of people poured into the U.S. totally unvetted and unchecked.”
USCIS on Wednesday suspended the processing of all immigration applications related to Afghan nationals “indefinitely.”
Trump Signals Push for “Reverse Migration”
Trump suggested that his administration would pursue an aggressive reduction of what he called “illegal and disruptive populations,” indicating that policy measures would be aimed at removing individuals deemed problematic.
“Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation,” Trump said, suggesting a large-scale rollback of immigrant populations.
Although Lakanwal was residing in the country legally, the incident has reinforced Trump’s call for wider immigration restrictions. The president has long campaigned for stringent limits on both legal and illegal immigration, and the case has provided fresh momentum for expanding vetting requirements and enforcement measures.
In recent months, Trump has deployed additional immigration officers to major U.S. cities as part of a drive to increase deportation levels. According to data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as of November 15, more than two-thirds of the approximately 53,000 individuals arrested and detained had no prior criminal convictions.
