Trump vows to halt migration from “all Third World countries” after National Guard shooting

United States President Donald Trump says he will suspend immigration from “all Third World countries”, linking the announcement to the arrest of an Afghan national suspected of opening fire on two National Guard members near the White House.

The move marks the sharpest escalation yet in Trump’s expanding crackdown on immigration, coming just a day after he ordered federal agencies to re-examine green card applications from 19 so-called “countries of concern”.

“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday.

He did not define what he meant by “Third World”, a term typically used to describe developing countries in the Global South.

Trump also said he would “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country”, adding that federal benefits for “noncitizens” would end. He pledged to “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquillity, and deport any foreign national who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western civilization”.

Earlier that day, US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow confirmed that, “at the direction” of Trump, his agency had launched “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,” Edlow said.

While he did not specify which countries would be affected, USCIS referred media to a June 4 presidential proclamation targeting nationals from 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Myanmar, Venezuela and Yemen.

Authorities have already indefinitely suspended Afghan immigration requests “pending further review of security and vetting protocols”.

The policy shift comes amid heightened political pressure following the arrest of Rahmanaullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national identified by Washington DC’s top federal prosecutor as the suspect in the National Guard shooting.

Lakanwal entered the US under “Operation Allies Welcome” after the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan and previously worked with US forces, according to officials. Federal agencies, including the FBI, are now reviewing his full immigration history and vetting process.

Trump’s administration has steadily ratcheted down entry routes, recently setting the refugee intake ceiling for 2026 at just 7,500, and ordering a sweeping review of roughly 200,000 refugees admitted during the Biden presidency.