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Trump: Permanently Pause Some Migration11/28 06:01
President Donald Trump vowed on Thanksgiving to "permanently pause
migration" from poorer nations in a blistering late-night, anti-immigrant
screed posted to social media.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- President Donald Trump vowed on Thanksgiving
to "permanently pause migration" from poorer nations in a blistering
late-night, anti-immigrant screed posted to social media.
The extended rant came in the wake of the Wednesday shooting of two National
Guard members who were deployed to patrol Washington, D.C. under Trump's
orders, one of whom died shortly before the president spoke to U.S. troops by
video on Thursday evening.
A 29-year-old Afghan national who worked with the CIA during the Afghanistan
War is facing charges for the shooting. The suspect emigrated as part of a
program to resettle those who has helped American troops after U.S. withdrawal
from Afghanistan.
"Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation," Trump posted on his
Truth Social platform. "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!"
Trump's threat to stop immigration would be a serious blow to a nation that
has long defined itself as welcoming immigrants.
Elected on a promise to crack down on illegal migration, Trump's raids and
deportations have disrupted communities across the U.S. as construction sites
and schools have been targets. The prospect of more deportations could be
economically dangerous as America's foreign-born workers account for nearly 31
million jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The president said on Truth Social that "most" foreign-born U.S. residents
"are on welfare, from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions,
gangs, or drug cartels" as he blamed them for crime across the country that is
predominantly committed by U.S. citizens.
The perception that immigration breeds crime "continues to falter under the
weight of the evidence," according to a review of academic literature last year
in the Annual Review of Criminology.
"With few exceptions, studies conducted at both the aggregate and individual
levels demonstrate that high concentrations of immigrants are not associated
with increased levels of crime and delinquency across neighborhoods and cities
in the United States," it said.
A study by economists initially released in 2023 found immigrants are 60%
less likely to be incarcerated than people born in the U.S. Immigrants have
been imprisoned at lower rates for 150 years, the study found, adding to past
research undermining Trump's claims.
But Trump seemed to have little interest in a policy debate in his unusually
lengthy social media post, which the White House, on its own rapid response
social media account, called "one of the most important messages ever released
by President Trump."
Trump pledged to "terminate" millions of admissions to the country made
during the term of his predecessor, Joe Biden. He also wants to end federal
benefits and subsidies for noncitizens, denaturalize people "who undermine
domestic tranquility" and deport foreign nationals deemed "non-compatible with
Western Civilization."
Trump claimed immigrants from Somalia are "completely taking over the once
great State of Minnesota" as he used a dated slur for intellectually disabled
people to demean that state's governor, Tim Walz, the Democratic vice
presidential nominee last year, calling him "seriously retarded."
Trump has ramped up his rhetoric since the shooting. On Wednesday night,
Trump called for the reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees who had entered
under the Biden administration.
On Thursday, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,
Joseph Edlow, said the agency would take additional steps to screen people from
19 "high-risk" countries "to the maximum degree possible."
Edlow didn't name the countries. But in June, the administration banned
travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 countries and restricted access from seven
others, citing national security concerns.
The shooting of the two National Guard members appeared to trigger Trump's
anger over immigrants, yet he did not specifically refer to the event in his
social media posting.
The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is accused of driving across the country
to Washington and shooting two West Virginia National Guard members, Specialist
Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24. Beckstrom died on
Thursday from the shooting, while Wolfe remains in critical condition.
The suspect, currently in custody, was also shot and had wounds that were
not believed to be life-threatening.
Asked by a reporter on Thursday if he blamed the shootings on all Afghans
who came to the U.S., Trump said: "No, but we've had a lot of problems with
Afghans."
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