Author: Sam Buisman

President Donald Trump announced that he plans to suspend immigration to the US amidst the coronavirus.

In a tweet Sunday night, the President announced that he plans to sign an executive order to “temporarily suspend immigration into the United States” to combat the spread of COVID-19 and protect jobs. While President Trump has not given any additional details on the order he plans to sign aside from the aforementioned tweet, he also scheduled a press conference for later tonight in which more specifics will likely be revealed.

However, immigration into the United States has already ground into a halt during the coronavirus crisis. According to the Guardian, the State Department has almost completely stopped processing immigrant visas while the Department of Homeland Security has done the same with asylum applications.

Democrats accused the President of trying to drum up a distraction to the ongoing public health crisis.

“This administration has botched its response to this crisis from the beginning,” stated Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Twitter “and instead of taking responsibility, they're using immigrants as their scapegoats.”

US law gives the President wide authority to limit entry into the country over national security and public health concerns, although the lack of detail on the President's planned action makes its legal merits impossible to speculate.

Still, a court challenge is likely if President Trump moves forward with this plan. The American Civil Liberties Union, who sued the President over his 2017 Muslim travel ban, have already expressed disapproval over this plan.

WSUM will continue to follow this story and issue updates as they emerge.