ZekaG/iStock(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — In a late-night tweet Monday, President Donald Trump announced that he will suspend immigration to the United States due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
President Trump tweeted late 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!”
Two White House officials said an executive order is being drafted and that Trump could sign it as soon as Tuesday. The order, which was discussed among senior staff members Monday, would suspend nearly all immigration under the rationale of preventing the spread of infection by foreigners arriving from abroad.
A formal order temporarily barring the provision of new green cards and work visas could come as early as the next few days, according to several people familiar with the plan. Such a move appears to have no modern precedent and would potentially leave the fiancées, children and other close relatives of U.S. citizens in limbo.
In the U.S., COVID-19 has sickened more than 787,000 people individuals and pushed the national death toll past 42,000 on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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