BREAKING: Donald Trump bans immigration into the U.S. with executive order to ‘protect jobs’ amid coronavirus pandemic
- The president announced his plans in a tweet Monday evening
- ‘In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy… I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States’, he wrote
- At least 22 million Americans are now out of work as tough measures to control the coronavirus outbreak wiped out 13.5 percent of the workforce
- Trump had already banned travel from Europe and China as COVID-19 spread
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
Donald Trump announced Monday plans to ban immigration into the United States amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The president tweeted Monday: ‘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!’
At least 22 million Americans are now out of work as tough measures to control the coronavirus outbreak wiped out 13.5 percent of the workforce and 10 years of job growth.
In an address to the nation last month Trump announced a drastic ban on foreigners traveling to the United States from Europe. He had already banned travel from China as the COVID-19 outbreak was spreading from the city of Wuhan.
The exact details of the order were not immediately clear but the development came as the U.S. death toll from the virus topped 41,000.
The United States has by far the world’s largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 779,000 infections, up 20,000 on Monday
Donald Trump announced Monday he will be banning all immigration into the United States
The president tweeted Monday evening announcing his immigration plans
Trump’s tweet came hours after the price of U.S. oil traded below $0 for the first time ever.
There were 5.2 million new claims for unemployment benefits filed last week, according to the latest Labor Department figures released on Thursday.
The staggering number of first-time claims was on top of the 16.8 million applications filed since the virus took hold in mid-March.
Economists say the unemployment rate could reach as high as 20 percent in April, which would be the highest rate since the Great Depression of the 1930s. While accurate records didn’t begin until 1948, economists say the unemployment rate rose to 25 percent in 1933.
The White House had already closed the U.S.-Canada border and the administration essentially shut down the nation’s asylum system last month.
International air travel has largely been suspended.
Trump’s administration is currently relying on a seldom-used public health law to set aside decades-old national and international immigration laws.
People seeking refuge in the U.S. are whisked to the nearest border crossing and returned to Mexico without a chance to apply for asylum. It may be the most aggressive clampdown on immigration by a president who’s made reducing asylum claims a top priority.
The administration tapped a law allowing the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ban foreigners if their entry would create “a serious danger” to the spread of communicable disease.
