Trump credits himself with ending wars, backs country-specific immigration curbs

US President Donald Trump reiterated his claim of having ended conflicts between several countries, including India and Pakistan, while unveiling a series of hardline immigration positions during a rally in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania.

At the rally, it was claimed that rising tensions between India and Pakistan had been brought to an end through intervention, and that multiple international conflicts had been resolved within a short timeframe, including disputes involving Kosovo and Serbia, Armenia and Azerbaijan , and hostilities linked to Israel, Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia .

Trump, who has repeated the India-Pakistan claim multiple times, maintained that the May confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours had been stopped through his efforts. However, India has consistently rejected any third-party role in the cessation of hostilities.

India had launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack in which 26 civilians were killed. After four days of cross-border drone and missile strikes, an understanding to end the military exchange was reached between India and Pakistan on May 10.

Addressing regional tensions in Southeast Asia, it was stated that renewed fighting between Cambodia and Thailand had been noticed and that a telephone outreach was to be made to the two countries with the intention of ending hostilities. It was asserted that peace was being pursued through a posture of strength.

On domestic policy, it was stated that a reverse migration trend had been achieved in the United States for the first time in five decades, with the claim that job creation, wage growth and rising incomes were being secured for American citizens. It was also stated that a permanent pause on migration from developing countries had been announced.

Remarks on migration patterns and source countries were framed around national security and domestic employment, with it being argued that stronger controls were necessary. It was stated that deportations of foreign nationals deemed to pose security risks had been prioritised.

It was further stated that new guidance had been issued by US Citizenship and Immigration Services allowing country-specific risk factors to be taken into account when screening applicants from 19 designated high-risk countries , including Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia, Iran and Venezuela.

The move follows a proclamation issued in June that restricted and limited the entry of foreign nationals from these countries, applying to both immigrant and non-immigrant categories, as part of broader national security and public safety measures.

The proclamation, titled “Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats”, was cited as the legal framework for the expanded travel restrictions.