U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday (November 27, 2025) he planned to suspend migration from what he called “third world countries,” a day after an Afghan national allegedly shot two National Guard soldiers in Washington.

“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media. He also threatened to reverse “millions” of admissions granted under his predecessor Joe Biden, and to “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States”.

The Trump administration said it will conduct a “rigorous” re-examination of all Green Cards issued to immigrants from “every country of concern”.

Mr. Trump added that he would end all federal benefits and subsidies to non-U.S. citizens, as well as deport any foreign national who is a security risk or “non-compatible with Western Civilisation”.

Also Read |U.S. stops processing Afghan immigration requests after attack near White House

His angry post, which ended by wishing Americans a happy Thanksgiving, marked an escalation in the anti-migrant policies of his second term dominated by a mass deportation campaign. “These goals will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations,” Mr. Trump said. “Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation,” he added.

Trump to intensify scrutiny on 19 ‘high-risk’ countries

In a statement, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said the agency has issued new guidance allowing for “negative, country-specific factors” to be considered when vetting aliens from 19 high-risk countries. These countries include Afghanistan, Myanmar, Burundi, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen. These are the same countries that were subject to a travel ban announced by Trump in a proclamation issued in June this year.

Also Read | Trump says lax migration policies top national security threat after National Guard members shot

In another social media post, Mr. Trump said the official United States foreign population stands at “53 million people, most of which are on welfare, from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels”.