Trump Targets 'Third World' Nations In New Immigration Crackdown

Donald Trump has said he wants to stop immigration to the US from all “third world countries”. The US president's comment came just a day after police named an Afghan national as the suspect in a shooting that injured two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., killing one of them. Trump is taking the crackdown further, saying his administration will review green cards already given to people from 19 countries, a move that signals his tough stance on immigration isn’t letting up.

Trump announced on his Truth Social account that he intends to put a permanent stop to migration from all ‘Third World’ countries, claiming the move is necessary to allow the US immigration system to recover. He also said he would reverse what he described as the millions of illegal entries approved under Biden. Trump also stated that anyone who isn’t considered a ‘net benefit’ to the United States or who fails to ‘love the country’ would be removed. He said federal aid and benefits for noncitizens would be cut off, and he vowed to strip citizenship from migrants he claims threaten domestic peace while deporting any foreign national he views as a burden, a security risk, or incompatible with Western values.

'Third World' is an old term used to describe poorer, developing nations. The White House and US Citizenship and Immigration Services have yet to provide more specifics on Trump’s plan, which he didn’t explicitly link to Wednesday’s attack. Earlier this year, he had already put a travel ban in place for Afghanistan and 11 other countries, mainly across Africa and Asia.

Joseph Edlow, the chief of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, said Trump has called for an exhaustive review of every green card issued to people from all ‘countries of concern’. When pressed on which nations were included, the agency referred to a White House proclamation from June, naming Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Somalia, and Venezuela. A US attorney said the suspect in the National Guard shooting came to the US after the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan through ‘Operation Allies Welcome’. The FBI and other federal agencies are now reviewing his immigration record and how he was screened.

The Trump administration has tightened immigration rules. In October, it announced a 2026 refugee limit of just 7,500, the lowest since 1980. According to a memo from USCIS chief Joseph Edlow, the government is reviewing around 200,000 refugees admitted under Biden and has paused green card applications for those who arrived during that time.