USA Trump announces far-reaching ban on the admission of foreigners
Following the shooting of two National Guardsmen in Washington, President Donald Trump has announced a complete ban on the admission of all people from "third world countries" to the USA.
28.11.2025, 07:37
28.11.2025, 09:31
SDA
"I will permanently stop migration from all Third World countries", the Republican announced on his online platform Truth Social.
He went on to write that he wanted to "give the US system the opportunity to fully recover" - although it remained unclear exactly which countries Trump was referring to and how and when he intended to enforce such an admission ban.
Within a few minutes shortly before midnight (local time), the president made three posts that were unusually drastic even by his standards.
Trump wrote that he wanted to reverse "millions of illegal admissions" from the term of office of his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, drastically reduce the number of "illegal and disruptive" people - obviously meaning those with a migration background - in the USA, cut federal benefits for non-US citizens and deport all foreigners who are "not compatible with Western civilization".
Conspiracy theories and racist stereotypes
In his posts, Trump used racist clichés (most foreigners come from backward countries, are welfare recipients, mentally ill or have a criminal background) as well as conspiracy theories (Biden's political decisions are void because they were signed by a machine) and covered political opponents with crude insults.
The term "Third World" chosen by Trump is no longer in use today and goes back to the world order in the second half of the 20th century.
During the Cold War, it served as a collective term for poorer and less developed countries that did not belong to the two major military blocs.
It has been replaced by terms such as "developing countries", "emerging countries" and "Global South/North", which are also controversial for various reasons.
Consequential shots fired in Washington
Trump's comments came in the middle of the debate about the serious shooting of National Guardsmen in the capital Washington.
The alleged perpetrator - an Afghan - fired at the soldiers on Wednesday just a few blocks from the White House and was subsequently arrested.
According to Trump, one soldier succumbed to her injuries and the second National Guardsman is fighting for his life. Trump described the act as a terrorist attack and the suspect - who according to US media reports entered the USA in 2021 - as a "monster".
Shortly after the incident, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a "thorough and comprehensive review of all green cards of all foreign nationals from all problematic countries" - i.e. those residence permits that allow foreign nationals to reside and work permanently in the USA - on Trump's instructions.
In addition to Afghans, people from 18 other countries such as Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Cuba and Venezuela are also affected.
Human rights activists warned against politically exploiting the attack and using it as an excuse to discredit an entire population group.
Trump blames refugees as the root of evil
On Truth Social, Trump posted a photo of refugees from Afghanistan with the words that the USA had allowed hundreds of thousands of people into the country without vetting under the "corrupt" previous government.
He had previously claimed that the alleged Washington shooter had also entered the country without being checked - despite media reports stating the opposite and that the man's asylum application was only approved after Trump took office.
Refugees are the main cause of social problems in the USA today, Trump claimed - and then cited the state of Minnesota as an example, which had been "taken over by hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia".
Last week, he had already publicly announced the end of a protection program for Somalis in Minnesota, which, according to current statistics, only covers a few hundred people.
"You won't be here much longer!"
Trump once again failed to provide evidence for his theses.
Instead, he claimed that the only real solution to the country's problems was "reverse migration" - a phrase that is strongly reminiscent of the word "remigration" used by right-wing extremists in Germany and other countries.
By this they usually mean that a large number of people of foreign origin should leave the country in question - even under duress.
Trump concluded his series of posts, which were designed as a message for the American Thanksgiving holiday, with the words: "HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those who hate, steal, murder and destroy everything America stands for - you won't be here much longer!"
