Trump's third world migration ban explained after National Guard shooting suspect identified

Donald Trump has threatened to 'permanently pause' all migration from third world countries to the US.

In a Thanksgiving message via Truth Social, the President lay out his plans to further crack down on migration.

It comes as the suspect of November 26 National Guard shooting in Washington, D.C. was identified as 29-year-old Afghan, Rahmanullah Lakanwal.

Sarah Beckstrom, 20, part of the West Virginia guard, died after being shot, while Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition, Sky News reports.

Lakanwal was taken into custody after being apprehended by law enforcement yesterday. He's said to have sustained gunshot wounds and was taken to hospital for treatment. The injuries were reportedly non-life threatening.

Two law enforcement officials told the Associated Press that Lakanwal is believed to have come to the US in September 2021 and has been living in Washington state.

The shooting took place near the White House on November 26 (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

A relative of the suspect told NBC News that the 29-year-old had served in the army for 10 years and served alongside US troops. The relative, who allegedly served alongside Lakanwal, said of their time in the military: "We were the ones that were targeted by the Taliban in Afghanistan."

Which third world countries is Trump banning?

In his Truth Social post, Trump didn't explicitly detail which third world countries he'd 'permanently' be pausing migration on, nor did he state exactly when this freeze would come into place.

As per the Borgen project, the term 'third world' first originated during the Cold War and was used to describe nations that did not align with either of the two major power blocs: The US and NATO (first world) or the Soviet Union (second world).

These non-aligned countries were mostly located in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. So the third world definition was political, not economic - meaning it included both wealthy and poor nations. Today, 'third world country' is often used to describe economically poor or developing nations, which doesn’t actually match the original Cold War definition.

Trump's previous travel and migration bans

Of course, this isn't Trump's first rodeo when it comes to banning people from certain countries from entering the US.

In January 2017, Trump signed Executive Order 13769, dubbed the 'Muslim travel ban,' which temporarily barred entry to the US for citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries, including Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

Refugee admissions were halted for 120 days, and indefinitely for Syrian refugee resettlement.

Trump has previously enforced two major travel bans (Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)

After court challenges, that order was replaced in March 2017 with Executive Order 13780, which narrowed the restrictions; removing Iraq, exempting valid visa or green-card holders and suspending refugee admissions.

Earlier in 2025, Trump reinstated and expanded a travel ban via Proclamation 10949, effective June 9.

This ban fully restricts entry for citizens from 12 countries - including Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, and Haiti - and imposes partial restrictions on seven more.

Unlike the 2017 ban, the 2025 measure is broader in scope and doesn’t come with a built-in expiration or refugee-resettlement pause date.