What Trump said on 'Third World' migration & which nations may be affected

Donald Trump has announced plans to pause migration from what he calls 'Third World countries', after two National Guard service members were shot near the White House by an Afghan national

US President Donald Trump announced that his administration will put a complete pause on migration from “Third World countries” to allow the US system to "fully recover".

 

This move comes after two National Guard service members were shot near the White House by an Afghan national earlier this week.

 

In a late-night series of Truth Social posts, Trump repeated his pledge to reverse what he called the “millions” of admissions allowed under former president Joe Biden. He said he would “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our country” and “denaturalise migrants who undermine domestic tranquility”. He also said that all federal benefits for non-citizens would end.

 

“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover... and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States,” he wrote.

 

Trump further added that “only reverse migration can fully cure this situation”.   

 

What does 'Third World' actually mean?

 

The concept originated during the Cold War, when the world was divided into:

 

• First World: US-aligned, industrialised democracies

• Second World: Communist nations led by the Soviet Union or China

• Third World: All other countries not aligned with either bloc, mostly developing nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America 

 

List of third world countries

 

Below is a list of 19 countries that may be affected by Trump's announcement:  • Afghanistan

• Myanmar

• Burundi

• Chad

• Republic of the Congo

• Cuba

• Equatorial Guinea

• Eritrea

• Haiti

• Iran

• Laos

• Libya

• Sierra Leone

• Somalia

• Sudan

• Togo

• Turkmenistan

• Venezuela

• Yemen

 

How the White House is responding to the DC shooting

 

Trump linked his new immigration push to the Washington shooting, which killed 20-year-old US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and critically injured Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24.

 

Authorities say the accused, 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, had entered the US through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era programme for Afghans evacuated after the Taliban takeover.

 

The administration has already paused reviews of Afghan immigration files and started rechecking cases of refugees admitted under Biden, including freezing pending green card applications.

 

US orders green card review for 19 nations

 

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow said Trump has ordered a “full scale, rigorous re-examination of every green card for every alien from every country of concern".

 

He wrote on X, “The protection of this country and of the American people remains paramount”, adding that Americans “will not bear the cost of the prior administration's reckless resettlement policies".

 

Under the revised rules, USCIS can now consider “negative, country-specific factors” when assessing green card applications from 19 countries, the same countries included in Trump’s June proclamation restricting entry on national security grounds.

 

(With agency inputs)