U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday issued a
proclamation extending the suspension of issuance of work visas and green
cards.
Trump imposed the measures in April and June to protect job
opportunities for American workers amid a rise in unemployment due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The proclamation came hours before the president’s executive
order on the immigration restrictions was set to expire.
The order will now expire at the end of March, extending
into the first term in office of President-elect Joe Biden, who has vowed to
reverse Trump’s immigration policies.
The proclamation said allowing immigrant workers into the
country would “pose a risk of displacing and disadvantaging U.S. workers during
the economic recovery following the COVID-19 outbreak”.
“The effects of COVID-19 on the United States labour market
and on the health of American communities is a matter of ongoing national
concern.
“And the considerations present in Proclamations 10014 and
10052 have not been eliminated,” Trump wrote in the proclamation.
The president first imposed the restrictions on the issuance
of green cards for immigrants in April, and expanded it in June to limit
several other work visas.
They include new H-1B tech worker visas, H-2B seasonal
worker visas, certain J work and education exchange visitor visas and L
executive transfer visas.
The proclamation said the recent surge in COVID-19 cases had
surpassed previous highs in June.
This, in addition to implementation of pandemic-related
restrictions, has placed further strain on U.S. businesses, it said.
“The effect of recently approved vaccines and other
treatments has not yet been fully realised for the U.S. labor market.
“While the November overall unemployment rate in the United
States of 6.7 per cent reflects a marked decline from its April high, there
were still 9,834,000 fewer seasonally adjusted non-farm jobs in November than
in February of 2020,” the proclamation added.
The order applies only to foreigners who are currently
outside the U.S. and do not yet have permission to enter.
Those who already have permanent residency are not affected,
and there are exceptions for certain people, including spouses and children of
U.S. citizens.
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