US President Donald Trump says he wants to permanently end migration from "Third World Countries" after the D.C. killing of one National Guard member and the serious wounding of another by an Afghan national who was granted asylum after working in Afghanistan with the CIA during the US invasion of the country.
The comment was made on Truth Social late night on November 27. While it is not entirely clear which countries Trump considers to be “third world,” US Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced a revision of all green cards issued to citizens of 19 nations, some of which Trump has had disagreements with, such as Cuba and Venezuela.
There have been several points in United States history when immigration was encouraged, starting with the colonial period through the early 19th century when people from England, Ireland, Germany, and other parts of Europe were actively recruited to emigrate to the United States.
Attitudes began to shift in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when laws such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Immigration Act of 1924 reflected a move toward restriction.To explore the moments when America closed its borders, click through this gallery.