Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said after meeting with President Trump on Monday that she's recommending a travel ban on multiple countries in connection with criminal activity in the U.S.
The big picture: Trump widened his administration's hardline immigration crackdown after officials said the suspect in last Wednesday's ambush-style shooting in D.C. that killed one National Guard member and critically injured another was an Afghan national.
Zoom in: "I am recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that's been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies," Noem said on X, without specifying which countries she was referring to.
- "Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom — not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS," Noem said. "WE DON'T WANT THEM. NOT ONE."
Context: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News in a Monday night interview that Trump shared on Truth Social that the president had several months ago "announced a travel ban on 19 third-world and failed state countries around the world."
- Now, Noem is "recommending that travel ban widens and covers more countries around the globe," Leavitt added.
State of play: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services last week announced a review of every green card holder from 19 countries of "concern," including Afghanistan, Iran, Haiti and Venezuela, which Leavitt appeared to be referring to in her interview.
- These countries featured in a June proclamation, titled: "Restricting the entry of foreign nationals to protect the United States from foreign terrorists and other national security and public security threats."
- Trump said last week he "will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover," but his administration did not immediately clarify which countries would be targeted by this.
What they're saying: The White House referred Axios to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on which countries would be targeted in Noem's travel ban plan, and the DHS said it would be "announcing the list soon."
- The State Department, which typically processes visas, referred Axios to the DHS for questions on Noem's comments and the White House for questions regarding presidential actions to restrict foreign nationals' entry to the U.S.
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