President Donald Trump announced what he described as a “temporary suspension of immigration into the United States.” But an executive order he is expected to sign to implement the change would bar only those seeking permanent residency, not temporary workers.
“I will be signing my Executive Order prohibiting immigration into our Country today,” Trump tweeted Wednesday.
The president said Tuesday he would put a 60-day pause on the issuance of green cards in an effort to limit competition for jobs in a U.S. economy wrecked by the coronavirus. The order would include “certain exemptions,” he said, but he declined to outlined them, noting the order was still being crafted.
“By pausing immigration we’ll help put unemployed Americans first in line for jobs as America reopens, so important,” Trump said at the White House. “It would be wrong and unjust for Americans laid off by the virus to be replaced with new immigrant labor flown in from abroad.”
An administration official familiar with the plans, however, said the order will apply to foreigners seeking employment-based green cards and relatives of green card holders who are not citizens.
Americans wishing to bring immediate family will still be able to do so, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity before the plan was announced.
About 1 million green cards were granted in the 2019 fiscal year, about half to spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens.
By limiting his immigration measure to green cards, Trump was leaving untouched hundreds of thousands of foreign workers granted non-immigrant visas each year, including farm workers, health care workers and software programmers.
The Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, estimated that some 110,000 green cards could be delayed during a two-month pause. Trump said he would consider extending the restrictions, depending on economic conditions at the time.
Trump has long advocated restrictions on both legal and illegal immigration and has raised concerns for years about foreigners competing with American citizens for jobs.
But he denied he was using the virus to make good on a longstanding campaign promise as he seeks reelection. “No, I’m not doing that all,” he said. The president has also used the crisis to push other stalled priorities, from tax reform to dramatic border restrictions.
Trump has often pivoted to his signature issue of immigration when he’s under pressure. It’s one 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.
Much of the immigration system has already ground to a halt because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Almost all visa processing by the State Department has been suspended for weeks. Travel to the U.S. has been restricted from much of the globe. And Trump has used the virus to effectively end asylum at U.S. borders, including turning away children who arrive by themselves and putting a hold on refugee resettlement — something Congress, the courts and international law hadn’t previously allowed.
Trump first announced his intentions in a vague tweet Monday night.
Trump has already used the crisis to take dramatic steps to limit immigration. Last month, the administration effectively ended asylum, relying on a rarely used 1944 law aimed at preventing the spread of communicable disease. U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada have also been closed to tourism and recreational travel. Commercial traffic and a wide range of “essential” workers are still allowed to travel freely.
The U.S. is now reporting more COVID-19 cases than any other country in the world, with more than 825,000 infected, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. More than 45,000 have died.
AP
