Donald Trump has said he will sign an executive order to temporarily suspend all immigration to the US because of the coronavirus.
Writing on Twitter, the US president announced: “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!”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Nevertheless, reaction has been swift. Thomas Homan, Trump’s former acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said: “It makes sense to protect opportunities for our workforce while this pandemic plays out.”
Paul Gosar, a Republican congressman, said: “Thank you, @realDonaldTrump! All immigration to the United States should halt until every American who wants a job has one!” More than 22 million people apply for unemployment benefits in the last month.
However, the former Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro tweeted: “You cut off immigration, you crater our nation’s already weakened economy. What a dumb move.”
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
USA Today adds that Trump’s critics believe the president is “using the crisis” to “further America First policies that have long been focused on making it more difficult for foreigners to live and work in the US”.
The author Garrett M. Graff says that Trump’s announcement comes as the Department of Homeland Security has no Senate-confirmed leadership in immigration.
On Twitter, he wrote: “Whatever this means, it comes at a time when @DHSgov, which oversees immigration, has no Senate-confirmed leadership on this issue. No Sec, Dep Sec, no General Counsel, and no head of *ANY* of the three border/immigration agencies.”
In the US, more than 785,000 people have been confirmed as having Covid-19 and more than 42,000 have died.
-
Quiz of The Week: 29 November – 5 DecemberQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
The week’s best photosIn Pictures A drive in the desert, prayers with pigeons, and more
-
The Week Unwrapped: Will drought fuel global violence?Podcast Plus why did Trump pardon a drug-trafficking president? And are romantic comedies in terminal decline?
-
Trump pardons Texas Democratic congressmanspeed read Rep. Henry Cuellar was charged with accepting foreign bribes tied to Azerbaijan and Mexico
-
‘It is their greed and the pollution from their products that hurt consumers’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump targets ‘garbage’ Somalis ahead of ICE raidsSpeed Read The Department of Homeland Security will launch an immigration operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
-
Hegseth blames ‘fog of war’ for potential war crimespeed read ‘I did not personally see survivors,’ Hegseth said at a Cabinet meeting
-
Is a Reform-Tory pact becoming more likely?Today’s Big Question Nigel Farage’s party is ahead in the polls but still falls well short of a Commons majority, while Conservatives are still losing MPs to Reform
-
‘It’s critical that Congress get involved’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Appeals court disqualifies US Attorney Alina HabbaSpeed Read The former personal attorney to President Donald Trump has been unlawfully serving as US attorney for New Jersey, the ruling says
-
The military: When is an order illegal?Feature Trump is making the military’s ‘most senior leaders complicit in his unlawful acts’
