Trump Calls for Reverse Migration, Can the President Legally Strip Citizenship from Naturalized Immigrants ?
- President Trump is demanding the denaturalization and deportation of migrants from developing nations following a fatal shooting in Washington.
- Federal agencies have halted asylum processing and are reviewing the Green Cards of legal residents from specific countries of concern.
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| Photo by Joey Csunyo on Unsplash |
President Donald Trump has launched a fierce new campaign for what he calls "reverse migration" following a deadly attack in the nation's capital. The fatal shooting of a National Guard member by an Afghan national has spurred the White House to propose the most aggressive immigration crackdowns in modern history. Trump is using the tragedy to justify a complete overhaul of the American entry system. He is specifically targeting individuals from developing nations and those he deems ideologically incompatible with the United States.
The President outlined his vision in a series of posts on Truth Social. He promised to permanently pause migration from "Third World Countries" and threatened to strip citizenship from naturalized migrants who undermine domestic tranquility. This rhetoric moves beyond simple border security and suggests a retroactive culling of the legal immigrant population. Trump stated he would remove anyone who is not a "net asset" to the country. He also declared that anyone incapable of loving the United States would be forced to leave.
Federal agencies are already moving to operationalize these broad threats. USCIS Director Joseph Edlow announced a complete halt on all asylum decisions until vetting is maximized. The agency is also launching a rigorous re-examination of every Green Card held by nationals from countries of concern. This means legal permanent residents could face deportation if their paperwork is flagged during this review. The administration has not yet clarified exactly which nations fall under the "Third World" label Trump used.
The catalyst for this crackdown is the case of Rahmanullah Lakanwal. He is the 29-year-old Afghan national accused of killing Specialist Sarah Beckstrom. Trump has blamed the Biden administration for allowing Lakanwal into the country. However advocacy groups indicate that Lakanwal was actually granted asylum by the current Trump administration. He had previously worked with the CIA and US forces in Afghanistan. This service record would have required him to undergo significant background checks before entering American soil.
The policy shift extends to financial penalties as well. Trump has vowed to end all federal benefits for non-citizens. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that his department will issue regulations to deny tax refunds to certain groups of aliens. The administration is also making legal immigration prohibitively expensive for skilled workers. They have imposed a massive $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas. This move directly impacts tech companies and universities that rely on international talent.
Stephen Miller and other top advisers are pushing an ideological test for residency. Miller stated plainly on Fox News that those who are not a benefit to the country will be sent away. This aligns with the administration's plan to review every refugee resettled under the previous presidency. They aim to terminate what they call "illegal admissions" from the Biden era. The goal is to shrink the foreign-born population through a mix of deportation and bureaucratic attrition.
Legal experts warn that "reverse migration" faces a steep uphill battle in the courts. The concept of denaturalizing citizens violates the 14th Amendment in most interpretations. Federal judges have already blocked dozens of Trump’s previous executive orders regarding immigration. There are currently lawsuits alleging that the administration is deporting people in direct violation of court orders. The judiciary will likely be the final firewall against this attempt to redefine American citizenship.