(MENAFN- Live Mint) Amid US President Donald Trump pledging to 'permanently pause' migration from 'all Third World Countries' after shooting near White House, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday said that they are working to cut off federal benefits to illegal aliens.

“At trump's direction, we are working to cut off federal benefits to illegal aliens and preserve them for US citizens,” Bessent said in a post on X.

He further added,“Treasury announced that it will issue proposed regulations clarifying that the refunded portions of certain individual income tax benefits are no longer available to illegal and other non-qualified aliens, covering the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Additional Child Tax Credit, the American Opportunity Tax Credit, and the Saver's Match Credit.”

Also Read | Trump's 'Third World' migration ban: What it means and where does India stand?

The development comes as two National Guards were shot by an Afghan national in Washington DC on Wednesday, killing one of them.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump said he would suspend migration from what he called 'third world countries and also threatened to reverse 'millions' of admissions granted under his predecessor Joe Biden, marked a new escalation in the anti-migration stance.

"I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover," Trump wrote on social media.

Also Read | Chilling photo shows exact moment of shooting near White House

He linked the shooting and his decision to send hundreds of National Guard troops to the city.

"If they weren't effective, you probably wouldn't have had this done," Trump said. "Maybe this man was upset because he couldn't practice crime."

Joseph Edlow, Trump's director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said that he had ordered a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.

Also Read | Full list of crackdowns Trump has announced since White House shooting

The FBI has launched an international terror investigation as new details emerged about the alleged gunman Rahmanullah Lakanwal (29), an Afghan national, who entered the US in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, opened fire without provocation, ambush style, armed with a 357 Smith and Wesson revolver.

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