Trump says the US will impose a permanent halt on immigration from “third world countries”

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his administration intends to “permanently pause” migration from all “Third World Countries” to give the US immigration system time to “fully recover.”

He did not specify which countries he was referring to or clarify what he meant by “permanently pause.” Trump added that the suspension would also apply to cases approved during former President Joe Biden’s tenure.

“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions — including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s Autopen — and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

He also said he would eliminate all federal benefits and subsidies for “noncitizens,” “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility,” and deport any foreign national considered a public charge, security threat, or “non-compatible with Western civilization.”

The White House and US Citizenship and Immigration Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

Trump’s remarks came after a National Guard member was fatally shot near the White House in what investigators say was an ambush carried out by an Afghan national.

Earlier in the day, Department of Homeland Security officials said Trump had ordered a sweeping review of asylum cases approved during the Biden administration, as well as green cards granted to citizens of 19 countries.

According to a US government document reviewed by Reuters, the alleged shooter had been granted asylum this year under Trump.

On Wednesday, US Citizenship and Immigration Services halted all immigration processing for Afghan nationals indefinitely.

“These goals will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations,” Trump added.