Why Donald Trump says he's suspending immigration from 'third world countries'

Donald Trump has announced plans to 'permanently pause' immigration from 'all third world countries,' following the National Guard shootings this week.

On Wednesday (26 November), two National Guardsmen were shot in Washington DC, just blocks from the White House, with one of the victims, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, succumbing to her injuries. Meanwhile, the second victim, Andrew Wolfe, 24, is in critical condition.

The suspect was shot before being taken into custody, and his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

He has since been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who reportedly entered the US following America's withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Arriving under 'Operation Allies Welcome', Lakanwal had worked with the CIA and other government entities while serving as a member of a partner force in Afghanistan, according to CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who told Fox News that he 'should have never been allowed to come here'.

Two National Guardsmen were shot on Wednesday (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Since the news broke, the president has made some bold statements regarding immigration and benefits in the US, aiming at those from 'third world countries'.

Taking to Truth Social on Thursday (27 November), Trump wrote: "I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions."

The POTUS went on to say he would 'remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country', further claiming that all federal benefits being received by 'non-citizens' would come to an end.

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He vowed to 'denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquillity, and deport any foreign national who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western civilization'.

"Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation," he added.

Although he didn't specify exactly what he meant by 'third world countries,' it usually refers to countries with economic, social, and political issues, such as high poverty rates.

Donald Trump announced his plan to 'permanently pause' migration into the US from 'third world countries' (Pete Marovich/Getty Images)

The term was coined during the Cold War era to describe countries not aligned with the Western NATO alliance or the USSR and the Warsaw Pact.

Nowadays, it's more common to refer to developing countries, nations with less developed industrial bases and lower Human Development Indexes than developed countries.

According to the BBC, Trump has previously imposed travel bans on Afghan nationals, as well as on 11 other countries predominantly in Africa and Asia, and he'd also enacted a travel ban on majority-Muslim countries during his first presidential term.

Since Trump's social media statement, US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow said the president had instructed him to order 'a full-scale, rigorous re-examination of every green card for every alien from every country of concern,' as per Al Jazeera.

He said: "The protection of this country and of the American people remains paramount, and the American people will not bear the cost of the prior administration’s reckless resettlement policies."