Trump Administration Extends and Expands General Suspension of Immigration Through
the End of 2020
the End of 2020
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Citing the economic collapse caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the White House has extended through the end of 2020 restrictions on immigration that it first imposed earlier this year, expanding them to also include foreign workers that often are hired by high technology companies and other employers. The announcement, implemented in a June 22, 2020, presidential proclamation, continues the suspension of most immigration to the United States that was first announced in an April 22, 2020 presidential proclamation. However, it expands the previously announced suspension so that it also includes workers on H-1B visas, which are most often used for employing foreign nationals in the technology sector, but also in academia and health care.
The restrictions contained in Monday's proclamation are the latest in a series of steps that the Administration has taken to halt most forms of immigration to the United States. The Administration also has virtually stopped admitting refugees to he country, blocked the entry of unaccompanied alien children, and moved to make if much more difficult for person seeking asylum to apply for and receive that form of relief.
Monday's Proclamation. In the June 22 proclamation, the President declared that "American workers compete against foreign nationals for jobs in every sector of our economy, including against millions of aliens who enter the United States to perform temporary work," he said in the proclamation."
Continuing, the proclamation said that "Temporary workers are often accompanied by their spouses and children, many of whom also compete against American workers," he continued. "Under ordinary circumstances, properly administered temporary worker programs can provide benefits to the economy. But under the extraordinary circumstances of the economic contraction resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak, certain nonimmigrant visa programs authorizing such employment pose an unusual threat to the employment of American workers."
Continuing, the proclamation said that "Temporary workers are often accompanied by their spouses and children, many of whom also compete against American workers," he continued. "Under ordinary circumstances, properly administered temporary worker programs can provide benefits to the economy. But under the extraordinary circumstances of the economic contraction resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak, certain nonimmigrant visa programs authorizing such employment pose an unusual threat to the employment of American workers."
The Administration contends, without substantiation, that yesterday's announcement, when combined with others announced earlier this year, will save 525,000 American jobs. That assertion was contested by a broad group of major U.S. employers, however, who expressed opposition to the move and contended that the Administration was using the pandemic as an excuse do to what it has long wanted to do.
April Proclamation. On April 22, 2020, President Trump signed a proclamation suspending and limiting most immigration into the United States, contending at the time that the action was necessary to “protect jobs” amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The proclamation became effective on April 23rd and was set to expire 60 days after the effective date. It suspended the diversity visa program, popularly known as the visa lottery program, as well as suspended visas for foreigners seeking to move to the U.S. permanently through petitions from their family members or prospective employers. It applied to those who were outside of the United States at the effective date of the proclamation; those who did not have an immigrant visa valid at the effective date of the proclamation; and those who did not have an official travel document other than a visa at the effective date of the proclamation.
Excluded from the April 22 suspension were lawful permanent residents; those seeking to enter the United States as physicians, nurses, or other healthcare professionals, to perform medical or other research intended to combat the spread of COVID-19; or to perform work essential to combating, recovering from, or otherwise alleviating the effects of, the COVID-19 pandemic; those applying for visas to enter the United States as EB-5 immigrant investors; spouses and children of U.S. citizens; members of the U.S. armed forces; and some others.
Excluded from the April 22 suspension were lawful permanent residents; those seeking to enter the United States as physicians, nurses, or other healthcare professionals, to perform medical or other research intended to combat the spread of COVID-19; or to perform work essential to combating, recovering from, or otherwise alleviating the effects of, the COVID-19 pandemic; those applying for visas to enter the United States as EB-5 immigrant investors; spouses and children of U.S. citizens; members of the U.S. armed forces; and some others.
Those proposed changes would make it raise the bar for who may apply for asylum, and apply new definitions of a “political opinion” and what qualifies as membership in a “particular social group.” Those restrictions would severely narrow the number of individuals who could seek protections against gangs, terrorists or government organizations in their native countries.
The new rule also would allow immigration judges to dismiss asylum cases without ever conducting a court hearing if they deem an application lacks sufficient evidence or fails to meet the new standards.
The new rule also would allow immigration judges to dismiss asylum cases without ever conducting a court hearing if they deem an application lacks sufficient evidence or fails to meet the new standards.
Chinese Students and Researchers. Less than a month ago, the Trump Administration suspended the entry of certain groups of Chinese students and researchers into the United States. The President announced that suspension in a Friday, May 29, 2020, statement made on the White House lawn while surrounded by he Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, and others. He implemented the announcement in a presidential proclamation that he signed on that same day.
That suspension was part of a larger set of actions against the People's Republic of China (PRC) that the President announced on Friday. It comes in the midst of an escalating confrontation between the US and China over trade, the origins of the novel coronavirus pandemic, China's security crackdown in Hong Kong, and China's military moves in the disputed South China Sea. Other actions he announced on Friday include imposing yet-to-be-specified sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong officials “directly or indirectly involved” in eroding Hong Kong’s autonomy; and ending to U.S. participation in the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO); beginning a process of stripping some of Hong Kong’s privileged trade status.
With respect to students and researchers, the proclamation banned the entry of Chinese students and researchers on F or J visas if they have ties with China's People’s Liberation Army.
That suspension was part of a larger set of actions against the People's Republic of China (PRC) that the President announced on Friday. It comes in the midst of an escalating confrontation between the US and China over trade, the origins of the novel coronavirus pandemic, China's security crackdown in Hong Kong, and China's military moves in the disputed South China Sea. Other actions he announced on Friday include imposing yet-to-be-specified sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong officials “directly or indirectly involved” in eroding Hong Kong’s autonomy; and ending to U.S. participation in the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO); beginning a process of stripping some of Hong Kong’s privileged trade status.
With respect to students and researchers, the proclamation banned the entry of Chinese students and researchers on F or J visas if they have ties with China's People’s Liberation Army.
Asylum Restrictions. The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice have proposed sweeping rollbacks in the way asylum claims in the United States are processed that would make it more difficult for persons seeking the protection of asylum in the United State both to make claims, as well as more difficult for them to prevail on such claims. The proposals were announced by the Department of justice in a June 10, 2020, press release . They will be embodied in a 161-page Joint Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that the two departments published in the Federal Register on Thursday, June 11, 2020.
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