In a late-evening tweet, President Donald Trump said on Monday April 20 that he would suspend all immigration to the United States. "In view of the attack on the Invisible Enemy, and faced with the need to protect the jobs of our extraordinary American citizens, I will sign a presidential decree suspending immigration to the United States"wrote Donald Trump at 10:06 p.m. New York time on the social network.
The announcement is difficult to interpret, given the scale of the measures already implemented. At the moment, the borders of the United States are closed to travelers from Europe, Iran and China because of the coronavirus. Traffic is reduced to the strict minimum with Mexico and Canada, while visa processing by the American consulates is suspended. Illegal immigration to the Mexican border is in free fall, in particular due to the containment measures decided in the Central American countries where most of the illegal immigrants come. US authorities also return asylum seekers, including minors.
The press taken by surprise
With less than seven months to go before the presidential election, the Republican president running for re-election seems to be putting immigration on the political agenda. The job situation is particularly tight, with 22 million Americans registering for unemployment insurance in less than a month. Trump will find it hard to take advantage of his economic record and may seek to promote his "America First" slogan.
Taken by surprise, the American press did not have more detailed explanations on Monday evening. No one knew the duration of the measure, its legal means and how it would affect holders of a "green card", permanent work permit, or visa. The announcement is in apparent contradiction to Donald Trump’s intention to reopen the US economy and gradually lift the confinements imposed over the past month.
According to Alex Nowratesh, director of immigration at the think tank Cato Institute, interviewed by the Washington Post, Mr. Trump can rely on two legal foundations: the health code which allows him to stop immigration for health reasons and the decision of the Supreme Court which had validated in June 2018 his decision to ban nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries.
It would be unprecedented: even during the Spanish flu of 1918 which had particularly affected the United States, Washington had let in tens of thousands of immigrants.
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