By AFP Staff
In an unprecedented move, President Donald Trump announced via his Twitter account that he would be signing an executive order temporarily blocking all immigration to the United States in an effort to combat the spread of covid-19.
At 10 pm. on April 20, Trump posted the following Tweet: “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!”
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2020
The move was unprecedented in U.S. history, and only Trump would be bold enough to do it. It was expected to follow on the travel restrictions Trump already imposed on most of Europe, China, Canada, Mexico, and Iran.
Earlier today, however, in an exclusive report, The Hill reported that the move would likely immediately face legal challenges from the Democrats as well as well-funded and powerful lobbying and liberal groups in the United States.
Trump has received a great deal of criticism for not moving fast enough to fight the pandemic in the United States. Every U.S. agency has been accused of dragging its feet, the worst being the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that decided to take control of testing of covid-19, preventing private companies from creating their own. The CDC ended up botching its initial tests, setting the country back a month when it making tests available across the U.S. To this day, many people who suspect they have had covid-19 still cannot get tested.
While Trump did ban Chinese from traveling to the United States on Jan. 31, many say that was too little, too late as genetic sequencing has shown that most of the cases of covid-19 originated from strains that have been spreading in Europe. Trump waited another month and a half before he placed a travel ban on Europe on March 12. By that time, the virus was already spreading across the United States.
While experts debate what kind of a moratorium on all immigration will have, if any, on helping to stop the spread of covid-19, one thing is for sure. It will help alleviate the unemployment crisis facing the United States while the country is shutdown.
“22 million Americans have lost their jobs in the last month because of the China virus. Let’s help them get back to work before we import more foreigners to compete for their jobs,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) posted to Twitter on April 20 following Trump’s announcement.
22 million Americans have lost their jobs in the last month because of the China virus. Let’s help them get back to work before we import more foreigners to compete for their jobs. https://t.co/0a03nncxeC
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) April 21, 2020
Despite what those on the Left say, a temporary ban will help the poor and unemployed in the United States—all American citizens. Trump is doing the right thing putting them and the country first.
