USA TODAY International Edition
Trump’s border vow sets off alarm
Suspending immigration is called a political move
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s intention to suspend U. S. immigration could have wide- ranging implications for industries that rely on foreign workers, experts say, even as the details remain to be seen.
Trump has made immigration restrictions a hallmark of his administration, and his response to the coronavirus pandemic has included a number of ways to curtail entry into the country. He has halted nonessential travel along the northern and southern borders, suspended flights from China and Europe and suspended regular visa services at U. S. embassies and consulates.
But if immigration was suspended broadly, it could discourage a wide variety of employment and may have major effects on industries where millions of immigrants work, such as health care, manufacturing, agriculture and academics.
Few details are known yet about what Trump proposes. He announced his intention in a tweet Monday to protect the jobs of American citizens during the pandemic by “signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!”
About 22 million people have filed for unemployment claims since Trump declared a national emergency a month ago. Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, quoted Trump in blaming lower wages and higher unemployment on decades of record immigration.
“President Trump is committed to protecting the health and economic well- being of American citizens as we face unprecedented times,” she said in a statement. “At a time when Americans are looking to get back to work, action is necessary.”
Sen. Tom Cotton, R- Ark., retweeted Trump and said it’s important to get people who were laid off back to work “before we import more foreigners to compete for their jobs.”
Roy Beck, president of NumbersUSA, a group that advocates for lower levels of legal and illegal immigration, said skyrocketing unemployment in the USA right now is all the reason necessary to close the nation’s borders.
Trump’s comments “reflect a sensi
tivity to a primary purpose of all immigration laws of every country, and that is to protect a nation’s vulnerable workers,” he said. “With tens of millions of Americans who want to work full time not able to, most immigration makes no sense today, and to allow it to continue at its current level at this time would show a callous disregard for those enduring deep economic suffering.”
But critics said Trump’s proposal was entirely political and could cause devastating harm to the economy if implemented. Ben Johnson, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, suggested Trump is trying to score points with his base.
“He’s doing this at a time when there is nobody traveling,” Johnson told USA TODAY. “Everybody needs to understand that this is a political strategy and if it ever turns into a policy strategy, it’s going to make things much worse, not better.”
It’s unclear what travel Trump’s order might restrict. Exemptions or waivers could be granted for essential workers, such as college- educated computer programmers or low- skilled farmhands.
“There will likely be exceptions in ( Trump)’ s moratorium order,” tweeted Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that has advised the White House on immigration policy. “If so, what would be the point? Wouldn’t that really just make it a PR stunt?”
Trump’s proposal raised alarms across a variety of industries.
“We urge President Trump not to endanger the country’s economic recovery by closing its economy to the rest of the world,” Jason Oxman, CEO of the of the Information Technology Industry Council, a trade group for companies such as Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft, told USA TODAY.
Oxman said some of the most recognizable and dynamic American companies were started by immigrants. He said the country won’t benefit from shutting down legal immigration while tech workers play an essential role in the response to COVID- 19.
“They will be vital to the U. S. economic recovery and must remain part of the workforce,” Oxman said.
Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, tweeted Tuesday that immigrants are helping respond to the virus through health care, research, infrastructure and the food supply.
“Immigrants are vital to our company & the nation’s economy,” Smith said. “As we focus on recovery for all Americans, we must not lose sight of the critical importance of immigrants.”
Six million U. S. health workers are foreign- born, including about 29% of all doctors, 38% of home health aides and 23% of retail store pharmacists, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
“Trump’s ill- defined, insidious and irrational tweet insults the thousands of immigrants who are risking their lives in the fight against COVID- 19 as health care, pharmacy, manufacturing, transportation, and grocery workers, among other critical roles,” said Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American- Islamic Relations. “Banning these and other immigrants from our nation amid the COVID- 19 pandemic not only undermines our values but would result in fewer essential workers and makes us less safe.”
Greg Siskind, an immigration lawyer in Tennessee, questioned the message Trump’s proposal sends to foreign executives at U. S. manufacturing plants in his state, such as Nissan and Volkswagen. “Telling those companies that their Japanese executives and German executives are not welcome in the United States to oversee their plants is going to be an interesting conversation for those governors and senators,” Siskind told USA TODAY.