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Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) condemned President Donald Trump’s immigration pause, suggesting it reflects the president’s desire to exclude “brown people” from the United States.
During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Kelly’s comments followed a shooting incident involving an Afghan national who allegedly opened fire on two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. Following the death of one soldier, Sara Beckstrom, 20, Trump announced a halt on migration from “third-world” nations and plans to deport foreigners deemed “non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
“I think this [announcement] aligns with what we’ve seen from this president thus far. He speaks about targeting drug dealers, gang members, and criminals, but what we’ve observed is more about disrupting communities,” Kelly stated on Sunday.
He further remarked, “When he refers to ‘third-world’ countries, what is he implying? I believe he is indicating that he doesn’t want brown people in our country. That is troubling and un-American,” Kelly added.
Mark Kelly emphasized: “This president, when he says things like ‘third world countries,’ what is he really saying? I think he’s saying he doesn’t want brown people in our country. And that’s disturbing. It’s un-American.” pic.twitter.com/14ZGVl5WMy — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 30, 2025
When queried about which nations would be classified as “third-world” under Trump’s directive, Immigration and Customs Enforcement directed the Washington Examiner to a list of 19 countries from Trump’s June executive order, which includes Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Somalia, and Venezuela, among others.
Nonetheless, Kelly acknowledged that improvements could be made in the vetting process for immigrants. He suggested, “If it makes sense to change some things, I think we need to do that.”
“I had a commanding officer in the Navy who used to say, ‘If you’re not changing something, it’s getting worse,’” Kelly remarked.
TRUMP ANNOUNCES IMMIGRATION PAUSE FOLLOWING SHOOTING INCIDENT
The alleged shooter in the attack on the National Guard members, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was thoroughly vetted prior to his entry into the United States after serving with the CIA. He was relocated to Washington state under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome.
Operation Allies Welcome was initiated following the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, aimed at assisting Afghans who supported U.S. forces during the two-decade conflict and faced potential retaliation from the Taliban.
