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| Coronavirus: Immigration to US to be suspended amid pandemic, says Trump | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| US President Donald Trump has said he will sign an executive order to temporarily suspend all immigration to the US to fight the coronavirus. | |
| On Twitter, he cited "the attack from the Invisible Enemy", as he calls coronavirus, "as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens". | |
| There are no other details so far. | There are no other details so far. |
| It comes as the White House also argues the worst of the pandemic is over and the country can begin reopening. | It comes as the White House also argues the worst of the pandemic is over and the country can begin reopening. |
| The US has already agreed with both Canada and Mexico to extend border restrictions on non-essential travel until at least mid-May. | |
| Travel has also been sharply restricted from Europe and China, though people with temporary work visas, students and business travellers are exempted. | |
| The president's announcement comes as the administration seeks to reopen parts of the US from the Covid-19 shutdown. | |
| The country has 782,159 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 41,816 deaths. | |
| The reasons behind the move | |
| Donald Trump's efforts at governing by social media should always be taken with a sizable grain of salt. His track record on following through on Twitter directives is decidedly mixed. The details of his temporary ban on all immigration, announced a few hours before midnight on Monday, will shed considerable light on the breadth - and legality - of his actions. | |
| Still, it is no secret that the president, and several key advisors, have long viewed immigration not as a benefit to the nation, but as a drain. And the text of his tweet, that the move is necessary not only to protect the nation's health but also "the jobs of its great American citizens", only emphasizes this. | |
| There is little doubt the proposal, in whatever form it takes, will be vigorously opposed by pro-immigration groups, some business interests and the president's ideological adversaries. That is probably just fine with a man who loves drawing political battle lines and goading his opponents whenever possible. | |
| Four years ago, the president campaigned on an aggressive anti-immigration platform, including a total, if temporary, ban on all Muslims entering the country. Now, with an uphill re-election fight looming, he has found a similarly combative measure to champion. |