WASHINGTON, April 22, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – President Donald Trump
confirmed he would sign Wednesday an order partially blocking
immigration to the United States, in a move he argues would protect
workers from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
Immigration is a key issue for Trump’s conservative base, which he
is keen to energize ahead of the November election.
“I will be signing my Executive Order prohibiting immigration into
our Country today,” he said in a tweet.
The president said on Tuesday that he would stop the issuing of
green cards — permanent residency permits — for 60 days, but would
exempt temporary workers such as seasonal farm laborers.
“It will help put unemployed Americans first in line for jobs as
America reopens,” he said Tuesday. “It would be wrong and unjust for
Americans to be replaced with immigrant labor flown in from abroad.”
The US — with 45,000 deaths and more than 825,000 coronavirus
infections — is the world’s hardest-hit country, and healthcare
infrastructure in major hotspots such as New York has struggled to
cope.
About 22 million Americans have lost their jobs since the outbreak
forced a global economic shutdown.
The executive order on immigration will likely spark court action to
reverse it, and has raised hackles among Trump’s Democratic opponents.
Texas lawmaker Joaquin Castro slammed what he called “an attempt to
divert attention away from Trump’s failure to stop the spread of the
coronavirus and save lives.”
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) granted lawful
permanent residence to around 577,000 individuals in 2019.