Trump signs executive order to halt immigration as part of coronavirus crackdown

U.S. President Donald Trump signed on Wednesday an executive order that will temporarily halt the issuance of certain green cards, saying the immigration pause move is designed to preserve jobs for American workers in a coronavirus-battered economy.

However, the move is widely viewed by partisans on both sides of the immigration battle as being driven more by politics than policy.

The 60-day pause, which Trump announced he had signed before his Wednesday briefing, leaves untouched the hundreds of thousands of temporary work visas the country issues every year.

It also involves a long list of exemptions, including for those who are currently in the country and those requesting entry to work as physicians and nurses, along with the spouses and minor children of American citizens.

Trump characterised the decision as a sweeping “temporary suspension of 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,” the U.S. president said.

Trump ran in 2016 promising to crack down on both illegal and legal forms of immigration, making the case — disputed by many — sound like foreign workers are competing with Americans for jobs and driving down wages because they would accept lower pay.

While many of Trump’s efforts to drastically change the nation’s immigration system, from travel bans to asylum restrictions had been thwarted by Congress and the courts, the coronavirus pandemic has enabled him to move forward on certain changes, according to the Associated Press.