In a major new announcement, US President Donald Trump didn’t mince words when he took to his social media platform on Thursday. Asserting “immigration policy has eroded… gains and living conditions for many” in America, the 79-year-old US leader proclaimed that he would be blocking migration for several countries.
He again took aim at the Joe Biden administration and its resettlement initiatives that brought in foreign refugees into the country. “I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump had already made quite a few significant declarations merely hours after an Afghan national was identified as the lone suspect of the Washington DC shooting. The incident left two National Guard members in critical condition, with the POTUS later announcing that one of them, Sarah Beckstrom, had passed away.
In back-to-back scathing reveals, the POTUS has taken aim at foreign nationals who he says serve no beneficial purpose in the US. And so, he’s continued to unleash his fiery rants about his “reverse migration” agenda, which he believes is the need of the hour in the country.
Trump to pause migration from ‘third world’ countries
The US president further foregrounded, he will “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, or is incapable of loving our Country, end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of our Country, denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
Through these decisions, Trump seeks to achieve “a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations, including those admitted through an unauthorised and illegal Autopen approval process.”
He firmly believes that only “REVERSE MIGRATION” has the power to fully cure the situation in the US. Trump even went on to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, while noticeably name-dropping certain others. “HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for — You won’t be here for long!” he concluded the post.
What does Trump mean by ‘third world countries’?
Although he did not name-drop any country in his Thursday Truth Social post, the USCIS had previously directed the BBC towards the June 4 White House proclamation, answering which nations would be targeted with the sweeping green card review. That lengthy official release listed 12 countries Trump had decided to “fully restrict and limit the entry of nationals,” and 7 others he decided to “partially restrict and limit the entry of nationals.”
As of now, more clarity on Trump’s definition of a “Third World country” is awaited.
The term, in itself, is often deemed derogatory, or used to classify countries seen as poor or developing in modern times. However, the rather outdated term’s origins trace back to the Cold War, with French historian Alfred Sauvy coining it in 1952.
At the time, the term referred to countries that maintained a neutral stance, neither aligning with the largely democratic or capitalist ‘First World’ nations (aligned with NATO) like the US, nor the Communist Bloc countries like the Soviet Union and China labelled as ‘Second World.’
With the fall of the Soviet Union, the term’s initial meaning lost its political essence. The World Population Review states, “Third World” ultimately “came to refer to economically poor and non-industrialized countries, as well as newly industrialised countries.” Its modern definition suggests, “Third World countries are those that display economic, social, political, and environmental issues such as high poverty rates, economic instability, and lack of essential human resources compared to the rest of the world.”
The World Population Review further states, “This shifting definition has led to significant confusion as to which countries could correctly be called Third World today. For example, going by the historical definition, nations such as Finland, Sweden, Ireland, and Switzerland were not aligned with either NATO or the Communist Bloc, and so were Third World countries. However, all four countries are economically prosperous today, and as such would not be considered Third World under the current modern definition of the term.”
Trump doubles down on anti-immigration policies – Is India a target?
In light of Rahmanullah Lakanwal from Afghanistan being named as the DC shooting suspect, Trump is now using it to push his policies aimed at immigration crackdown even harder.
His new ‘Truth’ on social media followed hot on the heels of USCIS Director launching “a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern” at the direction of the MAGA leader.
This particular directive aiming for a sweeping green card review now targets foreign nationals of the following 19 countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
India is not included in this list of “high-risk” countries, as per the Trump admin’s long reiterated stand in numerous official releases on government websites.
Ahead of the green card probe announcement, the US immigration agency had also affirmed that it was stopping all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals.
Trump, on his part, had previously told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago report on Wednesday that his administration was going to dig deep into “every single” foreing national’s case who came into the the US from Afghanistan under the Biden administration.
“And we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here or add benefit to our country,” he added.
The suspected DC shooter is said to have come to the US in 2021 under Biden admin’s initiative Operation Allies Welcome. Refugee group #AfghanEvac said in a statement that Lakanwal applied for asylum during Biden’s presidency, but it was ultimately approved under the Trump administration in April, as per the Associated Press.
Trump, however, has been repeatedly taking aim at the Biden administration. Earlier today, he snapped at a reporter who asked him why he was blaming his predecessor. “Because they let him! Are you stupid?” the Republican leader hit back in a White House broadcast. “Are you a stupid person? Because they came in on a plane — along with thousands of other people that SHOULDN’T BE HERE.”
REPORTER: "Why do you blame the Biden Administration?"
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) November 28, 2025
POTUS: "Because they let him! Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person? Because they came in on a plane — along with thousands of other people that SHOULDN'T BE HERE." pic.twitter.com/0kCdJEATVJ
