Trump administration to extend, expand pandemic-related immigration restrictions

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)

The White House is citing the coronavirus pandemic as the driving force behind President Trump's executive order issued Monday that extends previously implemented immigration restrictions through the end of the year while also expanding the limits to new visa categories.

The Trump administration claims the restrictions — which apply to several different types of work and cultural exchange visas, including those in the technology sector — are meant to protect U.S. workers who lost jobs because of the coronavirus; the White House estimates the executive order will prevent foreign workers from filling 525,000 jobs.

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Tim O'Donnell

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.