Trump’s recent tweet about signing the Executive Order on immigration ban has created chaos and uncertainty.
“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!”
Just as Trump has mentioned in this tweet, he signed an Executive Order imposing temporary ban on immigration. This executive order clears misconceptions and clarifies about all its specifications. He stated that, “In the administration of our Nation’s immigration system, we must be mindful of the impact of foreign workers on the United States labor market, particularly in an environment of high domestic unemployment and depressed demand for labor.”
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, hereby find that the entry into the United States of persons described in section 1 of this proclamation would, except as provided for in section 2 of this proclamation, be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and that their entry should be subject to certain restrictions, limitations, and exceptions.
This ban will affect only legal migrants who are seeking green cards to be lawful permanent residents of the country. Green cards are a path to US citizenship & is the most sought-after way for US aspirants.
To be more precise, this ban applies to those who were outside the US on the effective date of this proclamation (midnight of April 23rd). Also, to those who are not the residents of US and to those who don’t already have a valid immigrant visa or a similar document.
The US has issued around 1 million green cards in FY 2019, about half of them to family members of US citizens. However, this year’s temporary ban on green cards can bring in drastic difference in these numbers.
While Trump has initially pledged to “temporarily suspend migration”, the finalized version of his Executive Order clarified many unclear aspects. Though this ban primarily applies to green card holders, it even enlists many exceptions within that group. Notably, the order does not apply to spouses of US citizens or their children younger than 21.
It also does not apply to doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals or researchers. Members of the US armed forces would be exempt, along with their families. Asylum seekers and refugees would also be exempt. Among other caveats, applicants traveling to the US on “investor visa” are an exempt.
While discussing the order, Trump emphasized that it would not affect temporary workers, such as farm laborers, or tourists, business travelers, and skilled workers on non-permanent visas. However, the president also said “additional immigration-related measures” could be taken later.
This temporary ban will expire after 60 days from its effective date and may be continued if necessary. It could, however, be extended by another 60 or a “lot longer” than that, Trump said. The authorities are obligated to look into lifting the measure no later than 10 days before its set to expire.
Trump also mentioned that he will consider economic data before deciding if he wanted to prolong the immigration ban. This implies that a strong economic recovery would make lifting the ban more likely.
Even before Trump’s ban, COVID-19 pandemic has bought global migration to temporary halt with the suspension of air traffic.
This is not the first time Trump has attempted to block immigration. Since taking his office in January 2017, Trump’s government is working on immigration ban during multiple occasions. In 2018, the US Supreme Court ruled that the president can block entry to specific groups of foreign nationals if they are deemed a security threat.
The Immigration and Nationality Act from 1965 also gives the president power to bar entry to any foreign group he deems “detrimental” to US interests. However, Trump’s initiatives are often disputed in court and it is possible that, even the latest decision would also prompt lawsuits.
A new legal action has asked a federal judge to place a temporary restraining order on the Trump administration’s April 22, 2020, presidential proclamation designed to prevent many Americans from sponsoring family members for immigration. The legal action builds on an existing lawsuit that has blocked the Trump administration from implementing a presidential proclamation to bar new immigrants without health insurance.
This may be the first step taken against a proclamation that suspends the entry of many new immigrants to the US. And one has to wait and watch to witness how this ban rolls out.