US President Donald Trump has vowed to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, “Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation.” He added, “Other than that, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for — You won’t be here for long!”
Trump asserted that “most” foreign-born US residents “are on welfare, from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels” as he blamed them for crime across the country.
Also, Trump pledged to “terminate” millions of admissions to the country made during the term of his predecessor, Joe Biden. He added that he wants to end federal benefits and subsidies for noncitizens, denaturalize people “who undermine domestic tranquility” and deport foreign nationals deemed “non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
Trump’s social media posts came in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard members who were deployed to patrol Washington, D.C. under his orders, one of whom died shortly before the President spoke to US troops by video on Thursday evening.
A 29-year-old Afghan national who worked with the CIA during the Afghanistan War is facing charges for the shooting. The suspect emigrated as part of a program to resettle those who has helped American troops after US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is accused of driving across the country to Washington and shooting two West Virginia National Guard members, Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24. Beckstrom died on Thursday from the shooting, while Wolfe remains in critical condition. The suspect, currently in custody, was also shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening.
Trump’s threat to stop immigration would be a serious blow to a nation that has long defined itself as welcoming immigrants. Elected on a promise to crack down on illegal migration, Trump’s raids and deportations have disrupted communities across the US as construction sites and schools have been targets.
The prospect of more deportations could be economically dangerous as America’s foreign-born workers account for nearly 31 million jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
According to a review of academic literature last year in the Annual Review of Criminology, the perception that immigration breeds crime “continues to falter under the weight of the evidence.”
“With few exceptions, studies conducted at both the aggregate and individual levels demonstrate that high concentrations of immigrants are not associated with increased levels of crime and delinquency across neighborhoods and cities in the United States,” it said.
A study by economists initially released in 2023 found immigrants are 60% less likely to be incarcerated than people born in the US Immigrants have been imprisoned at lower rates for 150 years, the study found, adding to past research undermining Trump’s claims.
US To Reexamine All Green Cards Issued To People From 19 Countries
Meanwhile, the Director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, said that the agency would take additional steps to screen people from 19 “high-risk” countries “to the maximum degree possible.”
As the Trump administration intensifies its immigration crackdown, Edlow posted on X, “At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.”
Edlow didn’t name the countries but in June, the administration banned travel to the US by citizens of 12 countries and restricted access from seven others, citing national security concerns.
USCIS said in a statement later that when vetting immigrants from those 19 countries, the agency will now take into consideration “negative, country specific factors,” which includes whether the country is able “to issue secure identity documents.”
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees USCIS, disclosed that the administration is also reviewing all asylum cases that were approved under former President Joe Biden.
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