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.
Subscribe to 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.
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Some mainstream Democrats struggle with Zohran Mamdani's surprise win
TALKING POINT To embrace or not embrace? A party in transition grapples with a rising star ready to buck political norms and energize a new generation.
-
How to make music part of your vacation
Let the rhythm move you
-
What is credit card churning and why is it risky?
the explainer Churners frequently open new credit cards with the intent of earning a welcome bonus and accessing other perks
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
'The arts are not just expressions of creativity'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
'Alligator Alcatraz will be a blight on the Everglades'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders