In a late-night Truth Social post on Thanksgiving, President Donald Trump declared that his administration will seek to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries” as part of a sweeping new crackdown on legal and illegal immigration.
The announcement, written in Trump’s characteristic all-caps style, came less than 48 hours after an Afghan national opened fire on two National Guard members posted near the White House, killing 20-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and leaving a second soldier in critical condition.
“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover,” Trump wrote. He added that the pause would remain in place until the government can “terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions,” end federal benefits to non-citizens, and deport anyone deemed a “public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
The president did not define exactly which countries would be covered by the blanket term “Third World,” but the post appeared to build on earlier executive actions that have already restricted travel and resettlement from roughly two dozen nations in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia.
Within hours, the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued memos putting all pending immigration cases involving Afghan nationals on indefinite hold. A separate directive ordered a review of green cards and asylum grants issued to citizens of 19 “countries of concern” — a list that largely mirrors the travel-ban nations from Trump’s first term.
Immigrant-rights groups reacted with alarm. The ACLU promised emergency litigation, calling the plan “openly racist” and vowing to challenge it in court as soon as formal orders are signed. Democratic leaders accused Trump of exploiting Wednesday’s deadly shooting for political gain, noting that the suspected gunman had actually received asylum earlier this year — under the current Trump administration — after initially arriving in 2021 during the Biden-era evacuation from Kabul.
On the other side, Trump allies and much of his online base praised the move as the boldest fulfillment yet of his 2024 campaign promise to restore “total control” over America’s borders. “He’s doing exactly what he said he would do,” White House deputy press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Friday morning. “The American people elected him to put America first, and that’s what he’s doing — at warp speed.”
Administration officials say the “permanent pause” will be enacted through a combination of executive orders, regulatory changes, and sharp cuts to refugee admissions (already slashed from 125,000 to 7,500 annually), and aggressive use of rarely invoked public-charge and national-security provisions.
Legal experts expect the measures to face immediate injunctions, setting up what could be a months-long Supreme Court showdown similar to the travel-ban battles of 2017–2018.For now, visa appointments at U.S. embassies in Africa, South Asia, and parts of Latin America have been canceled indefinitely, and thousands of people with approved immigrant petitions — including family members of U.S. citizens — are in limbo.
As the country digests the news on a quiet post-Thanksgiving Friday, one thing is clear: the immigration debate that dominated Trump’s first term is back — louder, broader, and more consequential than ever.
Signpost News is an Imphal-based media house that focuses on delivering news and views from Northeast India and beyond.
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