"It would be wrong and unjust for Americans laid off by the virus to be replaced with new immigrant labor flown in from abroad," Trump said during a White House press briefing."We must first take care of the American worker."
The U.S. Department of State issued roughly 462,000 immigrant visas in fiscal year 2019, which began on Oct. 1, 2018. How many immigrant visa applicants might be affected by Trump's planned executive order remains unclear. The potential executive order would include exemptions for people involved in responding to the coronavirus outbreak, including farm workers and those helping to secure U.S. food supplies, the official said.
Andrea Flores, a deputy policy director with the American Civil Liberties Union, which has sued over a number of Trump immigration policies, said Trump appeared “more interested in fanning anti-immigrant flames than in saving lives” with his latest proposal.The Trump administration has used several legal avenues to restrict travel to the United States in the past.
In addition, countries around the world have closed their borders and enacted quarantines to limit the spread of the virus, greatly reducing travel worldwide.