CameroonOnline.ORG | The United States is preparing for another major shift in immigration policy. President Donald Trump has announced a plan to “permanently pause migration” from countries he describes as “third world,” a declaration made in the aftermath of a deadly shooting in Washington DC that has been blamed on an Afghan national.
When pressed for details on which nations fall under this category, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services referred to a June presidential proclamation listing nineteen countries considered “of concern.” These countries are Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
This move continues a pattern of aggressive immigration actions during Trump’s second term. His administration has already pursued mass deportations of undocumented migrants, deep cuts to refugee admissions, and the removal of birthright citizenship for nearly all children born on U.S. soil.
Following the shooting, the government suspended all immigration requests from Afghans to allow a new review of security and vetting procedures. Immigration officials also announced a re-examination of green cards issued to migrants from the nineteen listed countries.
Trump has further committed to ending all federal benefits and subsidies for noncitizens, claiming that doing so will relieve pressure on public systems and improve living conditions for American citizens.
International agencies have voiced early concerns, and legal challenges are expected. For many observers, these developments represent a significant hardening of U.S. immigration policy and signal even stricter measures ahead.