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President Donald J. Trump Is Honoring His Commitment to Protect American Workers by Temporarily Pausing Immigration

Immigration

Issued on:

PROTECTING AMERICAN WORKERS: President Donald J. Trump is taking action to temporarily pause immigration and protect American workers as we confront the coronavirus.

  • President Trump is suspending new immigrant visas to put American communities and workers first as we move toward safely reopening the economy.
  • President Trump has a duty to ensure we help Americans regain their jobs and livelihoods.
  • This is a temporary pause demanded by the crisis we are facing as a Nation.
    • The pause will be in effect for 60 days, and the Administration will continue to monitor the labor market to amend or extend the proclamation if needed.
    • There will be exemptions for medical and other essential workers to combat the outbreak, spouses and minor children of American citizens, and certain other aliens.
  • President Trump is also asking his Administration to review guest worker programs to assess whether additional measures should be taken to protect American workers.
HELPING AMERICANS RECOVER: President Trump’s efforts will ensure we continue to put American workers first as we begin to reopen our economy. 
  • American workers have been hurt through no fault of their own due to the coronavirus.
  • It would be unfair to allow Americans out of work due to the coronavirus to be replaced by new immigrant labor brought into the United States.
  • Mass migration of low-skilled labor into the United States disproportionately harms historically disadvantaged Americans.
  • African Americans and other minorities, Americans without a college degree, and others are especially harmed by an influx of foreign labor.
BACKED BY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE: The American people strongly support common sense efforts to restrict immigration as we confront the coronavirus. 
  • Recent polling shows Americans strongly stand behind restricting immigration into the country during this crisis.
    • Nearly 80% of those polled said they favor a temporary pause on immigration into the United States, according to a recent USA Today/Ipsos poll.
    • As we face the challenges posed by coronavirus, a recent Pew Research Center poll found that 81% of Americans see mass immigration as a threat.
    • A recent Scott Rasmussen survey found that 70% of those polled agreed that the Government should place a temporary ban on foreign entry into the United States.
  • Even Democrats and liberal pundits used to warn against mass migration and advocate for protections for American workers.
    • Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2015: “You think we should open the borders and bring in a lot of low-wage workers, or do you think maybe we should try to get jobs for those [American] kids?”
    • Paul Krugman has said “Immigration reduces the wages of domestic workers who compete with immigrants.  That’s just supply and demand.”
    • Then-Sen. Barack Obama warned that mass migration “threatens to depress further the wages of blue-collar Americans and put strains on an already overburdened safety net.”