Trump announces the "permanent" suspension of immigration from the "Third World"

WashingtonDonald Trump has found in the shooting of two soldiers in Washington the springboard from which to advance his campaign to close the United States to immigrants. Although the focus until now has been on the pursuit and deportation of undocumented immigrants, the US administration has also been approving a series of measures to make it more difficult for immigrants of any kind to enter the country. Now, after Private Sarah Beckstrom died from a gunshot wound allegedly inflicted by a young Afghan man on Wednesday, the US president has announced that he will stop the entry of immigrants from the "Third World" and that he will "denaturalize" those who are "incompatible with civility." "I will denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic peace and deport any alien who is a public charge, a security risk, or incompatible with Western civilization," the US president wrote on Truth Social, without detailing how or according to what criteria he would do so. In the same post, besides saying he would "permanently" stop immigration from the "Third World," he also hinted that he would end all legal permits granted during the Joe Biden administration.

In the message, Trump described the alleged perpetrator, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who collaborated with the CIA in Afghanistan, as a "savage monster," and said: "This atrocity reminds us that we have no higher national security priority than ensuring that the greatest number of people we want come here illegally."

Hours earlier, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had already announced a "rigorous review" of the green cards of nineteen nationalities from "countries of concern," including Cuba, Venezuela, Ha2on, and the two alleged Washington shooters, who are in custody and in critical condition. In recent days, Trump has used Lakanwal's background to blame the Biden administration for the shooting, claiming it "allowed entry [...] of unknown and unverified aliens from all over the world." Last summer, the Trump administration issued a list in which It banned entry into the United States for citizens of nineteen countries, which also included Afghanistan.Paradoxically, most Afghans who have arrived in the country since 2021, when the US withdrew from Afghanistan, have done so as refugees. The Trump administration recently halted the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for Afghans, arguing that Afghanistan under Taliban control is now safe.

The shooting further fuels the Trump administration's campaign to close the country to foreigners, going beyond the simple question of whether they entered legally. Just days before the attack, the president had already announced his intention to limit the number of refugees admitted next year to 7,500, prioritizing white South Africans. This measure, announced before the shooting of the two National Guard members, was seen as a nod to American white supremacy and is part of a pressure campaign against the South African government, which they accuse of allowing a "genocide" against whites. That's what he told her. Trump himself to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, when he received him in the Oval Office in May.

In recent months, the Trump administration has increased barriers to immigration procedures of all kinds: it has imposed a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, which are granted to highly skilled workers and are most used by large technology companies; it froze student visa interviews for months and increased the requirements for granting them, authorizing the review of social media to revoke the visa of anyone with pro-Palestinian views. Furthermore, it wants to shorten the validity of visas for foreign journalists.