On Monday, April 20th, President Trump tweeted that he would “temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!” By the middle of the week, the executive order he issued had suspended many forms of immigration for 60 days.
In some ways, this was merely pro forma. It is simply the latest in a string of policy actions taken in response to the pandemic and economic shutdown. Immigration court proceedings are on hold, visa processing is suspended, non-essential travel from abroad has been banned. These are unfortunate but understandable.
Almost immediately, Trump was accused of politically exploiting the pandemic to further his restrictionist immigration agenda. Neither Trump’s actions nor the criticisms are surprising — he is, after all, a politician and this is basically the definition of what they do. Besides, some urban liberals are doing the same thing.
One of the president’s stated reasons for his executive order is to “protect” Americans jobs in the midst of rising unemployment. In many parts of the country, the economic doldrums are expected to last into 2021.
This may sound paradoxical but, in contrast to the president’s erroneous “lump of labor” thinking — and in contrast to pre-crisis Democratic calls to throw open the borders — some modestly expanded immigration channels can help with economic recovery.
There are at least three areas where some loosening of immigration policy could kickstart the rebound — and perhaps generate bipartisan agreement.
Read the full piece here.
