'Attack from the Invisible Enemy': Donald Trump to ban all immigration to US because of COVID-19 pandemic
President Donald Trump on Monday (April 20) night announced that he has planned to ban immigration to the US amid the coronavirus outbreak. The pandemic has left the US as the worst-hit nation of the world with over 780,000 affected and more than 42,000 dead. The president cited in a tweet both the pandemic and the worsening job scenario in the US as the reason for suspending immigration into the country, albeit temporarily.
At least 22 million Americans have lost their jobs over the last few few weeks as the pandemic, which Trump called “Invisible Enemy” in his tweet, has caused widespread shutdowns across the country. According to economists, the unemployment rate could go up to 20 per cent in April, marking it to be the highest since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Although there was no system to keep accurate records till 1948, the unemployment rate is believed to have gone up to 25 per cent in 1933. Experts have cautioned against a delayed recovery from the current situation and with the general election coming up in November, a poor economic scenario poses a big challenge to Trump.
“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 tweeted.
In an address to the nation in March, Trump came up with the measure on foreigners traveling to the US from Europe. The scope of the ban was later increased to include countries like the UK and Ireland. He has also banned travel from China in the wake of the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus from that country.
Details are awaited on when and how the latest immigration ban will be executed. The White House did not share any details on the executive order till Monday evening. In fact, the commander-in-chief’s latest tweet on the ban came hours after he asked Admiral Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary of health, to update him over the construction of the border wall, one of his pet projects.
Economic downturn can hit Trump in swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania
Electorally, the devastation of the economy is a big worry for Trump. Especially, in the two swing states of Michigan and Pennsylvania where the incumbent needs to clinch wins, the impact has been so huge that the president needs to think of some quick measures to turn things around. Both the states saw a minimum of one million jobless claims each. While states that backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 saw more jobless claims than those backing the Republican, Michigan and Pennsylvania are key for they helped him win by close margins.