Trump's New Threat to Naturalized Americans

Donald Trump has escalated his attacks on immigrants, moving beyond illegal and legal migrants to focus on naturalized citizensthose born outside the U.S., particularly from nations he disparagingly labels as the third world. His rhetoric seeks to sow division between white Americans and nonwhite Americans.

Trump has a long history of promoting discriminatory views. In recent months, he has publicly belittled at least five Black individuals as low IQ, a label he rarely applies to white people. He mocks names like Barack Hussein Obama and Zohran Kwame Mamdani. His policies and statements have favored white South Africans in U.S. refugee matters, included boycotts of G-20 events in South Africa, and falsely claimed a genocide against white populations.

On November 7, Trump hosted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn at the White House, praising Hungary for strict immigration controls. He criticized other European countries, saying, Their whole fabric has changed. You go to some of the countries, theyre unrecognizable now because of what theyve done. And Hungary is very recognizable. He repeated the word recognizable to emphasize his point. He warned that without his election victory, the U.S. might become a not recognizable country.

A week later, in an interview with Britains GB News, Trump expressed concerns about Europes culture, claiming that Europe is not the same place and citing Sharia law in some areas. He praised Orbn for admitting only Ukrainians, arguing they blend in with the population.

On Thanksgiving Day, following a shooting involving an Afghan national, Trump posted messages on Truth Social blaming refugees for social problems in the U.S., citing issues such as failing schools, high crime, urban decay, and overcrowded hospitals. He referenced a Census figure of 53 million foreign-born individuals, most allegedly dependent on welfare or connected to criminal or unstable backgrounds. Trump was not only criticizing foreign nationals but also a segment of American citizens.

In a second Thanksgiving post, Trump promised action against these Americans, stating he would: (1) denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, (2) deport any foreign national who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization, and (3) remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States. These vague terms would allow broad authority to revoke citizenship and deport people.

During a discussion on Air Force One, Trump clarified that his policy would target individuals from countries deemed out of control or not friendly to us, essentially excluding people from poor or unsafe nations, and limiting their ability to exercise rights such as freedom of speech in the U.S.

Trump has also applied his nativist agenda to domestic labor. At a cabinet meeting, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer emphasized that the administration was creating jobs for native-born Americans, highlighting that 2.5 million native-born citizens gained employment while 670,000 foreign-born workers, including naturalized citizens, lost jobs. The administration framed this as a success.

Trumps remarks extended to Somali-born Americans. He criticized Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a naturalized citizen from Somalia, and called for her removal from the country. He described her and her associates as garbage and praised his cabinets agreement, demonstrating an open endorsement of discriminatory policy.

The Trump administration has shifted from signaling hostility to openly targeting Americans based on origin. Citizenship no longer guarantees protection when ethnic background or country of origin is used as a criterion for exclusion.

Author: Sophia Brooks