Donald Trump vows to halt immigration from ‘all Third World Countries,’ but the blanket ban includes the very allies who risked lives

President Trump just announced a huge policy shift, vowing to permanently halt immigration from “all Third World Countries,” according to The Hill. This follows the tragic shooting of two National Guard members this week in Washington, D.C.

This is a massive and sweeping move, and it comes right after a devastating incident that shocked the nation. U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, who was only 20, sadly died on Thursday from her injuries. The other service member, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, is currently hospitalized and remains in critical condition.

The administration says this policy proposal is directly tied to the suspected shooter, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national. Lakanwal came to the U.S. through a special program designed specifically for Afghans who risked their lives assisting the U.S. military during the two-decade war in the Middle East.

It’s a terrible irony that a program intended to help loyal allies is now being used as the justification for such a broad blanket ban

Following the identification of the suspect, the administration immediately announced an indefinite pause on all migration coming specifically from Afghanistan. However, the president’s promise, which he posted in a lengthy statement on his Truth Social platform, went much further than just one nation. He wrote that he will “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover.”

This broad declaration is where things get really complex, and honestly, a little concerning due to the lack of detail. President Trump did not provide any specifics about which countries fall under his definition of “Third World.” That lack of clarity is definitely stressful for allies and immigrants currently navigating the system, especially since the proposed pause is supposed to be permanent. Just to give you an idea of the potential scope, the United Nations currently designates 44 countries as “least developed.”

In addition to the president’s vow, the administration confirmed earlier that it plans to reexamine green cards linked to 19 specific countries. We actually know the names of these countries because they were listed in a previous White House memo that outlined entry restrictions. It’s a long list that includes several nations where U.S. involvement has been contentious or where people have provided crucial aid to the U.S. military.

That list includes Afghanistan, Iran, Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, and Somalia. It also covers Burma, Burundi, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Yemen.

If this policy goes through as stated, we’re talking about sweeping changes that could affect countless people, just like his recent decree that threw 200,000 Biden-era refugees into chaos. This one is particularly awful for those who put themselves in danger to help the U.S. military, only to find themselves categorized under a sweeping, undefined ban, all while Trump goes ahead to grant refugee status to White South Africans.