US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has escalated the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown with a fresh call for sweeping new travel bans targeting several countries.
Noem revealed the plan in a fiery social-media post on Monday after meeting President Donald Trump.
She said she would recommend “a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”
The message was quickly amplified by Trump and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) across their official platforms.
The DHS told the BBC that the full list of affected countries would be released soon.
Ban Could Hit About 30 Countries
The White House had earlier announced restrictions on 19 nations across Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Noem’s recommendation would widen that list to nearly 30 countries.
Several US officials confirmed to CBS News that the expanded list would include many additional “third world and failed state” countries — the same language Trump used in his earlier policy statements.
DC Shooting Intensifies Pressure
The push for a tougher ban follows the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington DC last Wednesday.
The suspect, an Afghan national who entered the US in 2021 under President Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome, was accused of killing 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and seriously injuring 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe.
Emails obtained by CBS News show the suspect had battled mental-health issues since arriving in the US.
After the attack, the Trump administration immediately halted all asylum decisions.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the pause would continue “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”
Edlow also confirmed that Trump ordered a review of all green cards issued to migrants from 19 countries.
Trump Threatens Total Shutdown
Trump went even further on Thursday, threatening to “permanently pause migration” from all “third world countries,” blaming refugees for what he called rising “social dysfunction in America.”
He has made mass deportations, strict refugee caps, and an end to birthright citizenship central parts of his second-term agenda.
Afghan Group Warns Against Collective Punishment
The Afghan Community Coalition of the United States condemned the DC attack and expressed sympathy to the victims’ families.
However, the group warned that the crime was the act of one individual and urged the US not to punish Afghan allies who supported American forces during the 20-year conflict in Afghanistan.
The United Nations also urged Washington to uphold its asylum obligations, according to Reuters.