Trump vows to temporarily suspend immigration into US

washington — Returning to a divisive issue at a time of national crisis, President Donald Trump says he will sign an executive order “to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States” because of the coronavirus.

“In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!” Trump tweeted on Monday. He offered no details about which immigration programmes might be affected by the order.

Already, almost all visa processing by the State Department has been suspended for weeks because of the pandemic. Travel to the US has been restricted from much of the globe, including China, Europe, Mexico and Canada. And Trump has used the virus to effectively end asylum at US borders, something Congress, the courts and international law hadn’t previously allowed.

Trump has often pivoted to his signature issue of immigration in the face of political concern. It’s

an issue he believes helped him win the 2016 election and one that continues to animate his loyal base of supporters heading into what is expected to be a brutal reelection fight.

Trump also has been using the crisis to push many of his longstanding, stalled priorities, including moving manufacturing from China to the US.

In a statement, White House

Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany described the order as aimed at protecting both the “health and economic well-being of American citizens as we face unprecedented times”.

“At a time when Americans are looking to get back to work, action is necessary,” she said without offering details on what programs the order might cover and when it might be signed.

While so much of the immigration system has already ground to a halt, Trump could use his executive authority to slash the number of foreign workers allowed to take seasonal jobs around the country. Before the outbreak, the administration had planned to increased the number of H-2B visas, but the Department of Homeland Security put that increase on indefinite hold in early April.

Kevin Hassett, the former White House economic adviser who recently returned to help guide the response to the virus, said here would be “carve outs” for certain types of workers, but he cautioned, “We’ll have to wait and see what the final rule is going to be”. —