U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday issued a strongly worded Thanksgiving message in which he called for an immediate and “permanent pause” on immigration from what he described as “all Third World Countries.”
In a statement posted on his social media pages, Trump criticised current immigration policies, accusing political leaders of allowing the country to be “divided” and “disrupted.” He claimed that the United States now has an “official foreign population” of 53 million people and argued that immigrants place a heavy burden on public resources.
Trump alleged that many migrant families depend on welfare and asserted that a green card holder earning $30,000 could receive benefits worth up to $50,000. He also described immigration as the root cause of what he called social and economic decline, citing school failures, crime, hospital overcrowding, and housing shortages.
Referencing Minnesota, Trump claimed the state has been strained by refugee inflows and alleged that gangs linked to Somali migrants are responsible for rising insecurity. He also criticised state officials and elected representatives from the area.
Shifting to policy proposals, the president said he plans to implement a permanent halt to migration from “Third World Countries,” revoke what he described as “illegal admissions” under the Biden administration, end federal benefits for noncitizens, denaturalise migrants deemed to undermine national stability, and deport foreign nationals considered public charges or security risks.
According to Trump, the objective is to significantly reduce what he called “illegal and disruptive populations” and pursue what he termed “reverse migration” to stabilise the system.
He ended the message by wishing Americans a Happy Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, U.S. authorities have identified the two National Guard members shot in Washington, D.C., in an incident currently under FBI investigation as a possible act of terrorism. The victims, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, were deployed as part of a federal crime-reduction initiative.
The suspected attacker, 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who entered the U.S. in 2021, allegedly drove across the country before opening fire with a .357 revolver. He was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and has been charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill and illegal firearm possession.
Investigations into the shooting are ongoing.
