US President Donald Trump used a Thanksgiving message on his social media platform Truth Social to unveil one of his most sweeping immigration proposals yet, vowing to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries” and pursue what he called “REVERSE MIGRATION.”
The late-night post, published on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, came amid political fallout from the recent shooting of two National Guard members near the White House by an Afghan national and a separate announcement that the administration will re-examine green cards issued to immigrants from so-called “countries of concern.”
Trump framed his new proposal as a direct response to what he described as failures in the 2021 Afghanistan evacuation and broader Biden-era immigration policies:
“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!
…Even as we have progressed technologically, Immigration Policy has eroded those gains and living conditions for many. I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s Autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country, 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. These goals will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations, including those admitted through an unauthorized and illegal Autopen approval process. Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation. Other than that, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for — You won’t be here for long!”
The message sharply criticizes President Joe Biden, whom Trump accuses of allowing “hundreds of thousands” of people into the country “totally unvetted and unchecked” during and after the Afghanistan airlift. Independent reporting has noted that tens of thousands of Afghans were evacuated in 2021 under emergency procedures, though exact figures and vetting details are contested along partisan lines. Reuters
Call to pause immigration and expand removals
In the same Truth Social post, Trump lays out a multi-part agenda that, if implemented, would represent a major escalation in US immigration policy:
- “Permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries” to allow the US “system to fully recover.”
- Terminate “millions of Biden illegal admissions,” including those he claims were approved via Biden’s “Autopen.”
- End all federal benefits and subsidies for non-citizens.
- “Denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility.”
- Deport any foreign national deemed a “public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
The phrase “reverse migration,” which Trump writes in all caps, appears to signal a shift from limiting new arrivals to actively increasing removals of people already in the country. Several conservative outlets and international media immediately amplified the post, describing it as a “full suspension” of immigration from the developing world and a pivot to “reverse migration” as the new policy goal.
Linked to DC shooting and green card review
Trump’s post comes shortly after his administration ordered a “full scale, rigorous re-examination” of every green card issued to immigrants from 19 “countries of concern,” including Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Yemen and others.
Officials said that new guidance would apply to pending and future applications, as well as completed cases, deepening scrutiny of immigrants from those nations in the wake of the DC shooting that left one National Guard member dead and another critically injured.
Thanksgiving message with a warning
Trump ends his Truth Social statement with a Thanksgiving wish paired with a stark warning:
“HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for — You won’t be here for long!”
Immigration advocates and legal experts are already debating how much of Trump’s proposed agenda could be implemented under existing law, and what would require congressional action or face court challenges. Supporters, meanwhile, are hailing the statement as a long-awaited hard line on immigration following the DC attack and the earlier Afghanistan withdrawal.
