Trump Announces Permanent Pause on Migration from “Third‑World Countries,” Including Nigeria

U.S. President Donald Trump has declared that his administration will “permanently pause migration from all Third World countries,” a sweeping move that could affect immigration from Africa, Asia, Latin America and beyond, including Nigeria. (dawn.com)

In a post on his social media platform late on Thanksgiving Day, Trump said the pause is needed to let “the U.S. system fully recover.” (dawn.com) He promised to terminate “millions of Biden era admissions,” including those he said were approved via what he described as an improper “autopen” process under his predecessor Joe Biden, and to remove any immigrant he deems “not a net asset to the United States” or “incapable of loving our country.” (forbes.com)

Under the proposed policy, all federal benefits and subsidies for non citizens would end. Trump also threatened to “denaturalise migrants who undermine domestic tranquillity” and deport foreign nationals considered public charges, security risks, or “non compatible with Western civilisation.” (aljazeera.com)

The announcement came just a day after a shooting near the White House in which a member of the U.S. National Guard was killed, and another wounded, incidents that the administration linked to immigration and security failures. (theguardian.com) This development triggered immediate action, officials at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said they have ordered a “full scale, rigorous re examination” of every Green Card issued to immigrants from “countries of concern.” (aljazeera.com)

Although Trump did not publicly list all the countries affected, leaked lists published by media outlets suggest that dozens of developing nations, many in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, could be impacted. (livemint.com)

Critics and immigrant rights advocates have voiced alarm at what many call a blanket punishment of individuals based solely on their nationality or country of origin, warning that the measures amount to collective deportation and undermine long standing norms of asylum, legal immigration and refugee protection. As of now, neither the White House nor relevant U.S. agencies have provided a detailed legal framework explaining how such a sweeping “permanent pause” would be enforced, or how “Third World countries” are being defined. (gmanetwork.com)

This policy, if fully implemented, stands to reshape, perhaps drastically, the paths of migration for thousands hoping to travel to the United States, while raising urgent questions about legality, ethics and humanitarian commitments.