Trump Administration reinforces its mass deportation agenda: 'More important than ever'

The Trump administration reinforced its deportation agenda just days after an Afghan national shot two National Guard members, killing one of them. White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said this agenda is "more important than ever" and stressed that new immigrants must be integrated into American culture.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who came to the United States during the Biden administration as part of the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, shot officers Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe, fatally wounding Beckstrom.

Days later, Donald Trump announced that he planned to "freeze" immigration from some "third world" countries, also promising to expel those who "are not a net asset to the United States."

The White House then communicated that it would review green cards linked to 19 countries: Venezuela, Turkmenistan, Togo, Sierra Leone, Laos, Cuba, Burundi, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Iran, Haiti, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of Congo, Chad, Burma and Afghanistan.

In this context, Leavitt referred to the deportation agenda and the next steps to be taken regarding the immigration system.

"In the wake of last week’s atrocity, it is more important than ever to finish carrying out the president’s mass deportation operation. America cannot allow millions upon millions of unvetted illegal aliens to be rewarded with amnesty after they broke our nation’s laws to come here. They must go back to their home country," the press secretary told reporters accredited to the White House.

"The hard truth is that even when it comes to our legal immigration system, past presidents have failed to ensure that all prospective citizens love America, will add value and contribute to our communities, and will assimilate into our culture. Leaders have a duty to defend and advance the interests of their own people, not foreign nationals," he continued.

In addition, he took aim at the Biden Administration for the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and the subsequent decisions they made on immigration. Leavitt specifically mentioned the case of an Afghan national who was on the terrorist watch list and was detained by Border Patrol in 2024. Still under the Biden administration, he was released.

Again, let's just highlight the absurdity of that. Border Patrol apprehended a terrorist, and then the Biden administration, because of their lax policies, still allowed him to come into the United States of America. I think everyone in this room, whether you want to admit it or not, does not want that individual living alongside you in your American neighborhood. And that individual was later arrested again after being allowed to live in the U.S. at large for over a year," he said.