By Tannaz Karimi, International Affairs analyst
A Turning Point in U.S. Immigration Policy
In 2017, President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda marked a turning point in U.S. policy—delivering a jarring shock through travel bans, stricter border enforcement, and steep refugee limits. His most recent announcement in late 2025, declaring a “permanent pause” on migration from so-called Third World countries, represents the most radical extension of this trajectory so far.
This unprecedented move, framed by the Trump administration as a response to national security concerns, underscores how immigration has evolved from a domestic policy issue into a strategic instrument shaped by global threats and internal political messaging within an anxious and polarized American society.
From Global Leadership to Multipolar Reality
For decades, the U.S. viewed immigration—especially of skilled, ambitious individuals—as a tool to build and maintain global leadership. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy declared that America would “pay any price” to ensure the success of liberty. Yet, a few decades later, the U.S. could no longer insist on immediate global dominance. Rising powers have altered the geopolitical balance. The unipolar moment of the post Cold War era has passed.
Understanding the Multipolar World Order
Today’s world is distinctly multipolar. Acknowledging this new reality does not mean equal power among nations—it means recognizing the complex, interconnected geopolitical dynamics of the 21st century. States simultaneously cooperate and compete, leveraging one another’s vulnerabilities across diplomatic, economic, and security dimensions.
A helpful analogy: if a diplomat from 1880 and another from 1980 were both transported to 2025, the 19th-century diplomat—familiar with multiple centers of power—might better grasp today’s fragmented world than a Cold War-era official trained to think in binary terms.
Coordinated Adversaries and U.S. Strategic Anxiety
Recent U.S. intelligence assessments explicitly acknowledge increased coordination among adversarial states—particularly China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea—as a threat to American interests. For the first time, such cooperation appears prominently in the U.S. National Threat Assessment just after domestic security.
Travel Bans and the Logic of “Soft Threats”
Trump’s recent high-profile travel bans and immigration restrictions—particularly the ban targeting seven countries, most of which were Muslim-majority or geopolitical rivals—should be understood in this broader context. These bans reflect a preemptive strategy to address “soft threats” entering through non-military means such as migration, cultural infiltration, organized crime, or lone-wolf terrorism.
Through this lens, immigration becomes a security concern. The border is not just a geographic line—it is a symbolic front line in the effort to preserve national cohesion in an increasingly unstable global system.
Domestic Messaging and Political Calculations
On the domestic front, Trump’s immigration strategy served an equally calculated purpose: signaling to voters—especially working-class whites—that he was willing to confront perceived threats from within.
Trump’s focus on visa over stayers—rather than illegal border crossers—appeared inconsistent. However, it functioned as a political maneuver designed to energize nativist sentiment and demonstrate executive strength through high-profile deportations.
Communitarian Ethics and National Priority
From a communitarian perspective, states are morally obligated to prioritize their own citizens over non-citizens. Trump’s policies resonate with this ethical framework, directly challenging globalist ideals of open borders and universal human rights.
By adopting a tough stance on immigration, Trump shields political elites from backlash over economic inequality, job losses, and demographic anxieties. Immigration enforcement becomes performative—a symbol of restored control and national order.
Trump’s immigration policy was not simply about border control. It was a two-tiered response to a changing world order: externally, a strategic reaction to multipolar threats; internally, a message of solidarity with anxious domestic constituencies.
By reframing immigration as both a geopolitical and cultural threat, Trump offered a coherent—if controversial—vision of national defense. Whether viewed as protection or exclusion, these policies reveal a deeper transformation in how America defines its role in the world—and who belongs within its borders.
This commentary of Iran Insight is published on the Tehran Times website in 2025.
To read the full article, visit Tehran Times Website
