United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to “permanently pause” immigration from all countries he described as “Third World,” a category that includes Nigeria.
The declaration was made in a statement posted on his Truth Social account late on Thanksgiving Day. Trump said the policy shift was necessary to allow the U.S. immigration system to “recover” and to reverse what he called “millions of Joe Biden illegal admissions.”
The U.S. President also stated that individuals living in the country who are not, in his words, “net assets” or “incapable of loving America,” would be removed.
Citing data from the World Population Review, Trump referenced more than 60 nations across Africa, Asia and the Pacific—Nigeria among them—as “Third World countries” based on global human capital rankings.
The announcement came shortly after confirmation that West Virginia National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom died after being shot near the White House. The attacker was identified as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
In a related development, the Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on Thursday that he had ordered a review of all green cards issued to individuals from countries deemed “of concern,” in line with Trump’s directive.
When pressed by CNN to identify the nations under review, the official referred to 19 countries listed in a June presidential proclamation. They include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
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