Trump's anti-immigration animus at new level

After the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington last week allegedly by an immigrant from Afghanistan, President Donald Trump made a post on his Truth Social network that has taken this administration’s anti-immigration animus to a disturbing new level — not only explicitly attacking legal immigration, especially from “Third World” countries, but issuing a call for “reverse migration” that echoes white nationalist rhetoric.

The shooting raises painful issues beyond the tragedy itself which took the life of Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and left another West Virginia Guardsman, Andrew Wolfe, 24, fighting for his life. The accused perpetrator, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was admitted into the United States in 2021 because he aided U.S. troops during our war effort in Afghanistan. While there have special immigration programs to bring such people to the United States, many Afghanis who worked with U.S. forces — and found themselves at extremely high risk after the American withdrawal — have been in immigration limbo, drawing sharp criticism over their abandonment.

Now, the United States has stopped issuing visas to people from Afghanistan altogether — and halted all asylum decisions.

An entire group is thus penalized for one man’s terrible act. While Trump officials have said that there is a need for better screening, immigrants from Afghanistan already undergo extensive vetting — as did the shooter whom Trump reportedly granted asylum earlier this year and whose deadly attack seems to have been the result of later struggles with mental illness.

But Trump’s post after the shooting didn’t just target immigration from Afghanistan. It promised to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover,” terminate President Biden’s “illegal admissions,” “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country,” and “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility.”

As with many of Trump’s proclamations, the wording is confusing: will migration be paused or permanently cut off? What’s more, the list of supposedly undesirable immigrants is bizarrely sweeping. “Not a net asset” refers to a controversial theory under which anyone receiving more in tax-funded benefits and services than he or she contributes in taxes is basically a freeloader. The other criteria, which include being “incompatible with Western civilization,” are even fuzzier.

It is unclear to what extent Trump’s social media posts can be translated into policy. But there have already been aggressive deportation efforts targeting people legally admitted under Biden-era asylum or refugee programs — including some with permanent resident status. And the administration has previously talked about stepping up efforts to strip certain immigrants of citizenship.

Are we going to see permanent residents and even naturalized citizens in jeopardy because Trump administration officials have decided that they are a threat to “tranquility” or don’t love America the right way?

Some immigrant populations in America obviously integrate and thrive better than others. But no group is without bad apples — and, all in all, immigrants are less likely to commit violent crimes than native-born U.S. citizens. Many immigrant groups without which American culture and history would be unimaginable today, such as Italian Americans, Irish Americans and Eastern Europeans, were once stereotyped as importers of crime and disorder.

In the end, an administration intent on demolishing the long-cherished ideal of America as a nation of immigrants is arguably far more of an attack on America than the immigrants Trump denounces as subversive.

Opinions expressed by Cathy Young, a writer for The Bulwark, are her own.

By Cathy Young

Cathy Young is a writer for The Bulwark.