Washington is set to "permanently pause" work on migration from all "Third World Countries." U.S. President Donald Trump announced the move on Thursday (27 November) after the death of a National Guard member in an attack by an Afghan national near the White House on Wednesday.

Trump did not identify any countries by name or explain what he meant by third-world countries or "permanently pause". He said the plan would include cases approved under former President Joe Biden's administration.

"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," he said on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Trump said he would end all federal benefits and subsidies for "noncitizens", adding he would "denaturalise migrants who undermine domestic tranquility" and deport any foreign national deemed a public charge, security risk, or "non-compatible with Western civilization."

Trump's comments followed the death of a National Guard member who had been shot near the White House in an ambush investigators say was carried out by an Afghan national.

• National Guard member dies as ambush in U.S. capital becomes political flashpoint

Earlier, officials from the Department of Homeland Security officials said that Trump had ordered a widespread review of asylum cases approved under Biden's administration and Green Cards issued to citizens of 19 countries.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Wednesday stopped processing all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals indefinitely.

"These goals will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations," Trump said.

Cracking down on both legal and illegal immigration has been a key focus of his presidency, and this case gave him an opportunity to broaden the debate beyond legality to include stricter vetting of immigrants.

Trump has already deployed additional immigration officers to major U.S. cities to achieve record deportation levels, including many long-term residents and individuals with no criminal record.

More than two-thirds of the roughly 53,000 people arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and detained as of 15 November had no criminal convictions, according to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) statistics.

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