Trump order temporarily limits U.S. immigration during coronavirus
crisis
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[April 23, 2020]
By Ted Hesson, Steve Holland and Jef Mason
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald
Trump on Wednesday ordered a temporary block on some foreigners from
permanent residence in the United States, saying he wanted to protect
American workers and jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.
The order, an election-year move likely to prove popular with his
conservative base, is to last for 60 days and then will be reviewed and
possibly extended. It is likely to face legal challenges.
Some critics saw Republican Trump's announcement as a move to take
advantage of the coronavirus crisis to implement a long-sought policy
goal of barring more immigrants in line with his "America first"
platform.
"In order to protect our great American workers I have just signed an
executive order temporarily suspending immigration into the United
States. This will ensure that unemployed Americans of all backgrounds
will be first in line for jobs as our economy reopens," Trump said at
his daily news conference about the coronavirus at the White House.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/Apr/23/images/ads/current/remington_daily_sda_022614.png)
He also said it will "preserve our healthcare resources for American
patients" afflicted by the coronavirus.
Trump's order could block more than 20,000 people per month from
obtaining a green card of permanent residence, based on an analysis by
the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute.
However, U.S. immigration services abroad and at home have largely come
to a halt in the pandemic, which may blunt the immediate effect of the
order.
Democrats and immigrant advocates have criticized the new policy as an
attempt to distract from Trump's response to the pandemic. The United
States has the most confirmed cases and deaths in the world with at
least 821,000 people infected and at least 46,000 deaths, according to a
Reuters tally.
The measure would block immigration based on both employment and family
ties, but not affect guest workers who enter the United States on
temporary visas, such as farm workers and skilled workers in the H-1B
visa program.
Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals will be exempted, as
will other prospective immigrants coming to the country to perform
“essential” work to combat the new coronavirus, as determined by federal
agencies.
The measure also excludes immigrants applying for the EB-5 visa program,
which allows foreigners willing to invest in U.S. projects that create
or preserve jobs to obtain permanent residence.
The order blocks the ability of relatives of U.S. citizens to seek
permanent residence through their familial connections, if those
relatives are outside the United States. But it makes an exception for
spouses of U.S. citizens and unmarried children under the age of 21.
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![](../images/042320pics/news_I15.jpg)
President Donald Trump addresses the daily coronavirus task force
briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 21, 2020.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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Omar Jadwat, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's
Immigrants’ Rights Project, said that while the order is limited in
scope, it "will cause real pain for families and employers across
the country."
White House lawyers worked all day to craft the language for the
order, prompting some officials to say the signing might have to
wait for Thursday. But aides described Trump as eager to sign the
document.
Trump won the White House in 2016 in part on a promise to crack down
on immigration and has made the issue central to his presidency. But
many of his major moves trying to curb immigration have been
challenged in court.
A person familiar with the internal debate at the White House said
Trump and his advisers had discussed the executive order over the
weekend and that the move was directed at his electoral base.
"He's wanted this all along," the person said. "But now under this
pandemic he can absolutely do it."
Trump signaled his intentions in a Twitter post on Monday and
immigration attorneys representing businesses argued it would only
further depress the economy.
Michael Clemens, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for
Global Development, said that a range of industries would be hurt
including ones that are critical during a public health emergency
such as food processing, warehousing, shipping, eldercare,
childcare, communication and technology.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/Apr/23/images/ads/current/anh3_lda_SFARM_2019.png)
Many of those jobs are filled by immigrants and the family members
they reunite with from abroad, he said.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson, Steve Holland, Jeff Mason in Washington
and Mica Rosenberg in New York; Editing by Alistair Bell and Grant
McCool)
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