Draft of Trump's proposed immigration ban reportedly includes a broad range of exemptions

It isn't quite clear exactly what the practical effect President Trump's proposed immigration ban will be, Bloomberg reports, even after obtaining a draft of the anticipated executive order.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, many immigration agencies have stopped processing visas, already preventing people seeking to emigrate to the United States from doing so. Considering the draft of Trump's proposal will reportedly provide exemptions for migrant farm workers "directly helping to protect the supply chain," health care professionals, medical researchers, refugees and asylum seekers, permanent residents, and immediate family members of U.S. citizens, it's difficult to see what else the order could change.

The key in understanding the order might be the fact that Trump reportedly framed the ban through an economic lens — as opposed to one purely based on public health — which mirrors the president's rhetoric about immigration in the days before the pandemic. "I have determined that we cannot jump start the domestic economy if Americans are forced to compete against an artificially enlarged labor pool caused by the introduction of foreign workers," the draft reportedly reads.

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Bloomberg did not come across a potential start date for the ban, but if it does eventually get enacted, it would reportedly last for 90 days. Read more at Bloomberg.