President Trump said Thursday night that he would “permanently pause” migration from some countries and remove many migrants already in the United States, the latest announcement tightening immigration policy in response to the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington.
In two Truth Social posts, he wrote that he would stop migration from “all Third World Countries” to enable “the U.S. system to fully recover.” He did not elaborate on which countries he meant or how he would achieve his aim.
Since the attack, which killed one of the soldiers, the Trump administration has issued a series of announcements tightening the immigration system, including pausing immigration from Afghanistan specifically.
Thursday night’s posts also seemed to target migrants who had become citizens. Mr. Trump said he would “denaturalize” migrants “who undermine domestic tranquillity” and remove people from the country who were “non-compatible with Western Civilization,” without detailing whom it would apply to or how.
Hours before the posts were published, Mr. Trump announced the death of U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, one of the National Guard members who was shot on Wednesday. The other victim was identified as Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, who officials said on Thursday was in critical condition.
Both victims had been deployed to Washington since August as part of what the Trump administration has described as a crackdown on crime.
The suspect in the shooting, whom officials identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was in custody after being shot by other National Guard soldiers during the attack. The authorities said he had driven from Washington State to carry out the attack.
Mr. Lakanwal was once part of a C.I.A.-backed paramilitary group working in Afghanistan and moved to the United States under a Biden-era immigration program for Afghans fleeing Taliban rule.
On Thursday, after Mr. Lakanwal was identified as the suspect, Joseph Edlow, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, announced new guidance introducing more “negative factors” for officials to consider in immigration cases of people from 19 countries. The change in guidance was under consideration before the shooting.
The administration said it would also re-examine “every Green Card” for immigrants from those 19 countries, which are subject to a travel ban enacted in June.
In the Thursday night social media posts, Mr. Trump singled out refugees from Somalia, who he claimed, without offering evidence, were “completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota.”
The posts seemed to distill remarks the president made earlier on Thursday, in which he used the shooting to cast suspicion on refugees in general and attack Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from the state.
Jonathan Wolfe is a Times reporter based in London, covering breaking news.
The post Trump Promises to Pause Migration From ‘Third World Countries’ After D.C. Shooting appeared first on New York Times.
