On Thursday night, during the concluding hours of a holiday traditionally associated with the amicable interaction between Native Americans and eventual, the U.S. President issued a statement that harshly condemned the nation’s 53 million immigrants—including those who entered legally—making unfounded assertions that “most” of them “are on welfare, from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels.”
Donald Trump subsequently declared that his administration intends to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries,” “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States,” “end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of our Country, denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
Trump’s remarks followed a fatal incident in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, which resulted in the death of one National Guard member and critical injuries to another. As details emerged identifying the assailant as an Afghan national who had received asylum earlier this year, Trump and his Republican allies intensified their criticism of Democrats’ immigration policies, including those of former President Joe Biden.
“This is one of the most important messages ever released by President Trump,” the White House’s Rapid Response account on X stated regarding Trump’s Truth Social post, which also included disparaging comments about Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, calling him “seriously retarded,” and Representative Ilhan Omar (D, Minn.), labeling her “the worst ‘Congresswoman/woman’ in our Country.” Trump used the message to complain about Somalian refugees in their state and broadly attributed the “leading cause of social dysfunction in America” to refugees.
Trump’s message has ignited speculation about a significant shift and an acceleration of the administration’s efforts.
Since the beginning of Trump’s second term, his Administration has been tightening restrictions on both legal and undocumented immigrants. This includes implementing stringent measures on, revoking, and limiting entry for tourists and visitors. Trump has also previously suggested investigating the citizenship status of political opponents.
Earlier this week, the Administration announced its plan to review all refugees admitted under Biden and declared that it would restrict certain lawful immigrants’ access to housing programs. Last week, the Administration empowered immigration officers to deny permanent residency to legal immigrants who utilize Medicaid and other public safety net programs.
Furthermore, in June, Trump had already imposed or tightened entry restrictions on nationals from 19 countries, predominantly in Africa and the Middle East, and established quotas for the upcoming year. Following the Wednesday shooting, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it would re-evaluate the immigration status of lawful permanent residents and green card holders from these 19 nations, including Afghanistan. USCIS also stated that immigration officers would be authorized to consider “country-specific factors as significant negative factors” when reviewing immigration requests from nationals of these countries. In a separate announcement, USCIS indicated an indefinite halt to the “processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals … pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”
Concurrently with his Thanksgiving message, Trump uploaded a photo to Truth Social with the caption, “This is part of the horrendous airlift from Afghanistan. Hundreds of thousands of people poured into our Country totally unvetted and unchecked. We will fix it, but will never forget what Crooked Joe Biden and his Thugs did to our Country!”
The photo, as reported, depicts over 800 Afghan citizens being evacuated during a specific period. Trump’s first-term Administration had negotiated the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan through an agreement with the Taliban in 2020. Biden initially delayed this withdrawal but ultimately carried it out, facing criticism for its rushed execution, which left many Afghan partners in disarray and some abandoned.
Immigrant and refugee advocacy groups expressed concerns about potential repercussions from both the government and the public following the shooting. Shawn VanDiver, president of the nonprofit AfghanEvac, commented on Wednesday, “Those who would twist this moment to attack Afghan families aren’t seeking safety or justice—they’re exploiting division and endangering all of us.” Ashraf Haidari, the founder and president of refugee advocacy organization Displaced International, remarked on Thursday, “Even as we pursue accountability, one individual’s alleged actions cannot be allowed to define, burden, or endanger entire communities who had no part in this tragedy.”
Even the conservative editorial board of the Wall Street Journal contended on Thursday that Afghan nationals “shouldn’t be blamed for the violent act of one man. Collective punishment of all Afghans in the U.S. won’t make America safer and it might embitter more against the United States.” In response, Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff and unofficial architect of anti-immigration policy, later stated on Thanksgiving Day: “This is the great lie of mass migration. You are not just importing individuals. You are importing societies. No magic transformation occurs when failed states cross borders. At scale, migrants and their descendants recreate the conditions, and terrors, of their broken homelands.”
“Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation. Other than that, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL,” Trump concluded his Thanksgiving message, adding, “except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for — You won’t be here for long!”