News / Foreign Policy

'Xenophobe in chief': Trump blasted over plan to suspend immigration into US

Tuesday, 21 April 2020 8:38 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 21 April 2020 8:39 PM ]

A group of Central American migrants surrenders to US Border Patrol Agent Jose Martinez south of the U.S.-Mexico border fence in El Paso, Texas, US, March 6, 2019. (Reuters photo)

US President Donald Trump’s suspension of immigration to the country has drawn backlash, including from House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries, who called him “xenophobe in chief.”

Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine also took to Twitter on Tuesday to call Trump’s move a "pathetic attempt to shift blame from his Visible Incompetence to an Invisible Enemy.”

The president is expected to sign an executive order closing off the country as early as this week allegedly to battle the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Trump will ban immigration but allow some Southern states to loosen restrictions.

This has nothing to do with our safety and everything to do with his blatant xenophobia.

Pathetic.
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) April 21, 2020

"Tonight we have crossed 790,000 infections and 42,000 dead. This corrupt buffoon will will [sic] try any poisonous distraction and blame anyone to deflect from his failures that are killing our fellow Americans," tweeted New Jersey Democratic Representative Bill Pascrell.

The Trump administration has announced that the ban "had been under consideration for a while.”

“Immigrants have always made America great. Suspending immigration & giving into racism & xenophobia won’t solve our problems,” said Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal on Twitter. “Instead it will have a catastrophic impact on our health care, food supply & the systems we are relying upon during this crisis.”

Trump says to ban immigration into US over ‘coronavirus pandemic’

President Donald Trump has said he will sign an executive order suspending all immigration to the US as the coronavirus crisis deepens.

The White House has argued that the move is necessary to protect the health of Americans.

“President Trump is committed to protecting the health and economic well-being of American citizens as we face unprecedented times,” said White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. “As President Trump has said, ‘Decades of record immigration have produced lower wages and higher unemployment for our citizens, especially for African-American and Latino workers.’ At a time when Americans are looking to get back to work, action is necessary.”

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