Trump to 'Suspend Immigration Into the United States' by Executive Order amid Coronavirus Crisis

Donald Trump has announced his decision to sign an executive order to suspend immigration to the U.S. in an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Trump, 73, revealed the news on Twitter on Monday writing, “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!”

The president did not provide specifics as to when this ban would be put into place and whether there will be any exceptions.

The immigration suspension will reportedly serve as an extension of the travel restrictions Trump had previously announced, The Hill reported.

In March, Trump announced a ban on travel for many people from Europe in response to the global health crisis.

Trump did not disclose how long the immigration suspension would last and exactly when it would go into effect.

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The suspension also comes amid news of several states, including Georgia, announcing plans to reopen businesses.

While hoping to fight the health crisis with the immigration order, the president has also praised stay-at-home protestors saying during Sunday’s coronavirus briefing, “These are great people… They’ve got cabin fever. They want to get back. They want their life back.”

“I think these people are — I’ve never seen so many American flags,” Trump continued. (Some protest attendees reportedly were also seen waving Confederate flags.)

Trump’s support of protestors was in response to ally and occasional adviser Stephen Moore who said those fighting back against stay-at-home orders were “the modern-day Rosa Parks” referring to the icon of the civil rights movement who refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger.

Moore made his comments in a Washington Post article published Friday.

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“I think there’s a boiling point that has been reached and exceeded,” Moore, an economist and conservative commentator who Trump unsuccessfully tried to nominate to the board of the Federal Reserve last year, told the Post.

Appearing on Fox News on Monday, White House aide Kellyanne Conway said the administration wanted protestors to still practice social distancing and wear face masks.

As of Monday, there are now at least 753,317 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, the most worldwide.

At least 36,109 people in the U.S. have died from coronavirus-related illness.

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