Controversy over President Trump's immigration ban
(Baonghean) - According to Mr. Trump's explanation, this decision was made to protect millions of American workers who have fallen into unemployment due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, like many previous decisions on immigration, Mr. Trump's statement has received a lot of criticism and mixed opinions.
For America First?
In his latest statement, President Donald Trump said he would temporarily suspend all immigration into the US for 60 days.
This is the first time President Donald Trump has made a more detailed announcement after his rather general statement on April 20 about banning immigration, in the context of the US death toll from the Covid-19 epidemic exceeding 45,000 people. Mr. Trump's rationale is to protect jobs for millions of Americans.
Looking back at the recent period when the Covid-19 pandemic was severe, lockdowns and quarantines were applied in many states across the country, the unemployment benefit rate in the US skyrocketed and broke all previous records with at least 20 million people. This reality can be said to have created a big shock not only for the US economy but also negatively impacted Mr. Trump's race to "retain a place" in the White House.
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| US President Donald Trump stirs controversy with new statement on immigration. Photo: Politico |
Therefore, President Trump believes that temporarily suspending immigration will help unemployed Americans become the first choice of employers, once the US economy reopens according to the step-by-step plan that Mr. Trump has announced. In the statement, Mr. Trump affirmed,“By suspending immigration, American workers will be pushed to the forefront of the job market”, and that“It would be wrong and unjust for Americans who are unemployed due to the pandemic to be replaced by new immigrant workers from abroad.”That means, the government first needs to take care of and have the necessary policies to support and protect domestic workers.
It is also necessary to provide more information, it is expected that according to the new decision, the temporary immigration ban, if issued, will only apply to those seeking green cards, that is, those who want to live and work permanently in the US and will not apply to individuals coming to the US to work "temporarily".
Mr. Trump also noted that he would announce some exceptions, such as those involved in the fight against the pandemic or agricultural workers and those who are helping to ensure the food supply for the US. Furthermore, the decree could be extended or changed depending on economic conditions at that time.
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| The Covid-19 pandemic is causing 22 million Americans to lose their jobs. Photo: AP |
In addition to protecting American workers, Mr. Trump's decision is believed to be aimed at reducing pressure on the healthcare system, which is struggling to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. This decision is the next action after restricting travel from China and European countries in January. Mr. Trump's consecutive moves are not difficult to understand when the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted his "voter-pleasing" campaigns in recent times.
The Covid-19 crisis on all fronts and the ineffective handling of it have caused Mr. Trump's approval ratings in recent polls to decline rapidly. In the latest national poll, Mr. Trump is 8 points behind Democratic candidate Joe Biden, with only 46% support compared to Mr. Biden's 54%. Or according to the latest poll conducted by NBC News & Wall Street Journal, Mr. Biden is also 7 points ahead of Mr. Trump, with 49% support compared to 42%.
Reason for criticism
Despite the announcement that he would consider and adjust, President Trump's decision to temporarily suspend immigration immediately became the target of criticism from the Democratic Party. Many opinions said that this announcement was in fact just a formality, a political statement rather than having practical value. Because before that, Mr. Trump also imposed immigration restrictions to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic.
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| Many people believe that President Trump is shifting public opinion to immigrants to justify his ineffective Covid-19 prevention policy. Photo: Getty |
In addition, according to Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies, most immigrants seeking green cards have lived and worked in the United States for many years. Therefore, delaying or suspending the issuance of green cards while ignoring “temporary visas” will not help or benefit American workers, nor will it reduce pressure on the country’s health care system.
Some even criticized that after blaming China and the World Health Organization (WHO), Mr. Trump now blames immigrants to divert public opinion from the terrible crisis that is happening in the country. And that, if implemented, Mr. Trump's decision will have the opposite effect, causing him to fail in protecting American jobs. It shows that temporary workers will still be accepted in the US after the country reopens its economy.
Another contradiction is that before that, it was Mr. Trump who supported the view of business leaders when he said that immigrant labor is still needed to ensure food supply, health care and some other industries. It is also worth mentioning that, according to Envoy - a global immigration service provider, in the US, immigrants account for about 17% of medical staff, 24% of direct care workers such as nurses, assistants, 28% of highly skilled professionals in this field, including doctors...
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| There are no specific details in President Donald Trump's latest announcement on immigration ban. Photo: Getty |
From another perspective, Nishith Desai, founder of law firm Nishith Desai Associates, believes that, for whatever reason, President Trump's decision will only make the image of the United States less attractive to investors and foreign students who want to study and live long-term in the United States, while these are major sources of revenue for the country. Not to mention that according to observers, Mr. Trump's decision will certainly face legal challenges in the courts.
There is a precedent when looking back to 2017, President Trump issued an executive order banning entry to countries from mainly Muslim countries such as Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, citing national security reasons. However, at that time, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected this ban, saying that he had exceeded the authority granted by Congress. Therefore, whether President Trump's decision to ban immigration will be implemented or just a political statement will still need more time to be clarified!./.
