WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2020) US President Donald Trump told reporters that he is halting immigration to the United States for two months and will examine later on whether further extensions are needed.
"This pause will be in effect for 60 days, after which the need for any extension and modification will be evaluated by myself and a group of people based on economic conditions at the time," Trump said on Tuesday at the daily briefing at the White House.
Trump said he will sign the executive order on Wednesday. The US president said the order will apply to people seeking permanent residency in the United States, but that immigrant farm workers will be exempted.
Media reports earlier on Tuesday, citing a copy of the draft order, said that immigrant medical researchers and healthcare professionals will also be exempt from the order.
Trump claims that his order will protect American jobs from foreign workers and will help conserve medical resources for Americans in light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said in the same press briefing that they are seeing an improvement across major US cities from the pandemic, including New Orleans, Chicago, Baltimore, Boston, Detroit and Philadelphia and even in states like Rhode Island and Connecticut.
In addition, Trump urged the House of Representatives to approve the $480 billion coronavirus relief package for small businesses that passed the Senate earlier on Tuesday.
Trump also mentioned his meeting with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo at the White House earlier in the day, adding that the Federal government will help the state secure more testing and hopes that this same level of cooperation can soon begin with other states.
Moreover, Trump touched on China and the origins of COVID-19. Trump said the US government might know where the disease originated and that US intelligence agencies have told him "plenty" on the matter.
The United States has more than 814,500 confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 43,700 deaths caused by the virus as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.
