President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has signed an executive order limiting immigration to the U.S. for the next 60 days due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“In order to protect our great American workers, I’ve just signed an executive order temporarily suspending immigration into the United States. This will ensure that unemployed Americans of all backgrounds will be first in line for jobs as our economy reopens,” Trump said, adding that he signed the order just before beginning his daily press briefing at the White House.
The order suspends new immigrant visas for 60 days, according to the text, which was released Wednesday. The order applies to people who are currently outside the U.S. seeking entry and do not currently have a valid visa, but does not apply to those people who are already lawful permanent residents or health care professionals seeking an immigrant visa to help combat coronavirus in the U.S., for example.
