Trump Halts Immigration to US amid Virus Crisis

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump announced he is suspending immigration to US amid the Coronavirus crisis – a move critics denounced as both an act of partisan politics and an attempt to distract attention from the pandemic.

On a day when he also mocked both Republican and Democratic governors who had rejected his claims the nation had access to sufficient virus testing and ventilators, Trump tweeted that he was temporarily suspending immigration.

“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 wrote.

It was not immediately clear whether he was talking about specific immigration programs, such as the H-2A visa that allows farmworkers to enter the country for a specific period of time.

Such workers are essential for the agriculture industry in places such as California and Washington State, where farm owners and growers often complain local people have no interest working in the fields.

Trump made no mention of his plan at his daily briefing on Monday, when he spent time criticizing both Republican and Democratic governors who had been critical of the administration’s response to the pandemic.

Trump was elected having promised to crack down hard on immigration, vowing to build a wall on the US’s southern border with Mexico, and stepping up deportations of people without documents.

Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported on how Trump had used the crisis to shelve regulations put in place to protect victims of trafficking, and others.

He claimed “mass, uncontrolled cross-border movement” at the border had pushed him to act, and that he was protecting US immigration officials and agents. Officials claimed it would also help stop the spread of the virus in detention centers operated by US immigration authorities.

On Monday night, critics said Trump was looking for people to blame for the pandemic, and avoid taking responsibility.

Others suggested it was a move intended to please his supporters.