Immigration doesn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition.
I’ve argued in the past for using statistical analysis to build a smart immigration policy. It’s pretty simple. We have generations of statistics for immigration by different groups and from different parts of the world, and their lives in America.
That means we can track immigrant crime rates, welfare use rates, household income rates, terrorism rates and other metrics, crunch the numbers and conclude which kind of immigration is in our national interest… and which isn’t.
Now the State Department in the Trump administration is beginning to do something like that.
“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the State Department announced. “The pause impacts dozens of countries – including Somalia, Haiti, Iran, and Eritrea – whose immigrants often become public charges on the United States upon arrival. We are working to ensure the generosity of the American people will no longer be abused.”
Somalia and Haiti are ‘no brainers’. Iran is an odd one because while there are security concerns, Persian immigrants tend to be prosperous and not the folks you find at the welfare office.
The full list hasn’t been made public, but it will no doubt outrage those like Rep. Pramila Jayapal who claimed that Somalis built America.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-HAMAS): “This country was built by Somalis, Indians, Latinos, Africans.” pic.twitter.com/rsHnwEp4oE
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) January 14, 2026
But America will be much better off for it. As I recently wrote, “are third world migrants without high school diplomas earning 200% of the federal poverty line and sitting and defrauding every welfare program imaginable really saving Minnesota?”
They’re not and they’re bad for America.
