The president also indicated that he would try to denaturalize the citizenship of some people if he had the power to do so.
President Donald Trump said that a recent pause on immigration from some countries would be for “a long time,” adding he would also try to denaturalize some people if he had the power to do so.
“We have criminals that came into our country and they were naturalized maybe through [President Joe] Biden or somebody that didn’t know what they were doing,” Trump said on Nov. 30 in response to a reporter’s question on Air Force One.
“If I have the power to do it, I’m not sure that I do, but if I do, I would denaturalize, absolutely.”
Responding to a separate question about how long he would enact a pause on asylum from certain countries, the president said that his administration would suspend immigration for “a long time” and there would be “no time limit.”
“We don’t want those people. Does that make sense? You know why we don’t want them? Because many have been no good and they shouldn’t be in our country,” Trump said.
Last week, Trump said that he would suspend immigration from what he called “third world countries” after an Afghan national who was granted asylum in the United States allegedly opened fire on two National Guard soldiers in Washington.
Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were shot on Nov. 26. Beckstrom died the following day. Wolfe remains in critical condition.
In the post on Truth Social, Trump also said that he wants certain immigrants to leave the United States, writing: “Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation.”
Joseph Edlow, the head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), wrote in a Nov. 28 post on X that his agency would be pausing decisions around asylum claims until a vetting process is done.
“USCIS has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible,” he wrote. “The safety of the American people always comes first.
