The US President originally tweeted about the measure on Monday night, saying his decision was spurred by an “attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens” before signing the order on Wednesday.
“This will ensure that unemployed Americans of all backgrounds will be first in line for jobs as our economy reopens,” he said at the briefing. “It will also preserve our healthcare resources for American patients.”
More than 26 million people have lost their jobs in the US, since much of the country was placed into full blown COVID-19 lockdown in March.
The order suspends new immigrant visas and will last for 60 days, though it may be extended.
The measure will exempt medical workers and other essential workers, as well as the spouses and children of American citizens and won’t apply to any non-immigrant visas used to bring temporary workers into the US – after business groups expressed their anger at the original announcement.
Critics also say the President is blaming immigrants for the spread of the COVID-19 in the US, which has the highest number of cases in the world at over 866,000.
For a country that was built on the back of skilled migrants, it could prove to be a move that Trump may later regret.
