President Trump said late on Monday night that he will sign an executive order temporarily closing the US to people trying to immigrate as the nation struggles to contain the world’s most severe coronavirus outbreak.
“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!” he said in a tweet.The White House declined to provide further information but the announcement follows a series of moves by the Trump administration to clamp down on immigration during the pandemic.
In recent weeks, the US government has taken steps to bar asylum seekers and undocumented migrants from entering the US. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees the right to seek asylum but rights advocates are concerned that Mr Trump is using the coronavirus crisis to pursue anti-immigration policies.
“The Trump administration appears to be weaponising fears over Covid-19 to step up its anti-immigrant agenda by eviscerating the right to seek asylum,” Clara Long, a senior US researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
“Instead of whipping up xenophobia and denying rights, the Trump administration should be taking rational, prudent steps to ensure the health of citizens and non-citizens alike.”
Reducing immigration was one of Mr Trump’s core campaign pledges before taking office in 2016.
Last month, a report in the New York Times revealed a Trump administration plan to immediately return all asylum seekers from Mexico without any examination of their protection claims. The plan would enable US border officials to return those coming in via legal ports of entry without any due process.
The latest moves comes as the administration plans to reopen parts of the country in phases, even as the country continues to battle Covid-19. The staggered approach is meant to revive the economy by providing recommendations for state governors to reduce restrictions and reopen in three stages if certain criteria are met.
There are currently 792,913 confirmed coronavirus cases in the US and 42,517 have died from the disease.
SOURCE : NATIONAL AE