Trump vows to ‘permanently pause’ migration from poor nations in anti-immigrant social media screed

President Donald Trump has declared his intention to "permanently pause" migration from poorer nations, expressing this in a strong anti-immigrant statement on social media. This declaration follows the recent shooting of two National Guard members in Washington D.C., one of whom died. The suspect in the shooting is an Afghan national who had assisted American troops during the Afghanistan War. Trump suggested "reverse migration" as the only solution and stated that those who "hate, steal, murder, and destroy" would not be in the U.S. for long. His threat to halt immigration could significantly impact a nation historically defined by its welcoming stance towards immigrants. Trump's past actions, including raids and deportations, have disrupted communities and could have economic consequences, given the substantial number of foreign-born workers in the U.S. He also made claims about immigrants being on welfare, from prisons, or involved in criminal organizations, which are largely unsubstantiated by research. Studies, including one in the Annual Review of Criminology and another by economists, indicate that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes and that high concentrations of immigrants are not associated with increased crime rates. Trump further pledged to terminate millions of admissions made under the Biden administration, end benefits for noncitizens, and deport those deemed incompatible with "Western Civilization." He specifically targeted immigrants from Somalia and used a derogatory term to insult Minnesota's governor. Following the shooting incident, Trump called for a reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees admitted under the Biden administration. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has stated it will increase screening for individuals from 19 high-risk countries, though these countries were not named. The shooting incident appears to have intensified Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric, although he did not directly link the event to all Afghans in the U.S.