Trump to suspend immigration to U.S.

He says the temporary move is to protect local jobs; new green cards, work visas are likely to face ban

22/04/2020, SRIRAM LAKSHMAN,CHENNAI
/WASHINGTON

New measures: Donald Trump in Washington on Monday. APAlex Brandon

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will temporarily suspend immigration in order to protect Americans’ jobs.

“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!” he said on Monday evening (Washington time), in a reference to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tightening visa policies

While Mr. Trump did not clarify the scope — in terms of visa categories or time — of this planned order, it will likely temporarily stop new green cards and work visas, as per several reports.

The order is in line with the tightening of visa policies that the administration has undertaken over the years, backed by immigration hawks such as Mr. Trump’s adviser Stephen Miller.

The State Department issued 4,62,422 immigrant visas in the 2019 fiscal year — down from just over 6,17,752 in 2015, while U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services granted permanent residence to nearly 5,77,000 individuals.

Monday night’s tweet on immigration could also be Mr. Trump’s way of trying to push States to open up, after weeks of lockdown, a Washington DC source who works in the economic policy area told The Hindu.

With more than 22 million Americans seeking unemployment benefits over the last month, and with a general election looming, Mr. Trump has been keen on opening up the U.S. economy — battling with some Governors to open up States. Last week, Mr. Trump issued an advisory telling States they could open by May 1 or before. Some States such as Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina — all headed by Republican Governors — are planning to ease restrictions.

Call for easing curbs

On Twitter last week, Mr. Trump called for Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia — States with Democrat Governors — to be “liberated”. Earlier, the President had claimed he had the power to “open up” States and conservative groups have backed protests against “stay at home” orders across States.

National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien on Tuesday cast the President’s announcement as a move to protect the American people’s health. Mr. O’Brien said the temporary halt to immigration would not be “dissimilar” to limits on travel to the U.S. from China that Mr. Trump put in place in January.

“We’re trying to do everything, the President’s trying to do everything he can to put the health of the American people first during this crisis,” Mr. O’Brien told Fox News.

“So this is one step. It’s not dissimilar to the restrictions on travel from China that he implemented back on January 29 at the very outset of this public health crisis.”

Asked about Mr. Trump’s reference to jobs, Mr. O’Brien referenced the virus’ economic toll. “There’s been an economic cost here, too, and the President’s looking out for Americans on both fronts at every turn,” he said.

Mr. Trump has issued a number of immigration-related executive orders before after the pandemic began — such as allowing the immediate deportation of migrants without valid papers and the potential sanctioning of countries that do not accept their citizens back from the U.S. Like those, his temporary immigration suspension order will likely be challenged in court.

(With Associated Press inputs)