Trump’s Immigration Suspension Doesn’t Prevent Unemployment or COVID-19 Spread

The new policy wouldn’t have more than a minimal impact on joblessness in the United States, even if immigration actually determined employment levels — and it generally doesn’t.

David L. Wilson, Truthout

April 30, 2020

Late on the evening of April 20, President Trump tweeted that he was temporarily suspending immigration to the United States. For justification he cited what he called “the attack from the Invisible Enemy” — that is, COVID-19 — and “the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens.”

Government officials had to scramble to make sense of Trump’s tweet, but by April 22, the White House staff had tacked together a presidential proclamation for Trump to sign.[...]

Read the full article:

https://truthout.org/articles/trumps-immigration-suspension-doesnt-prevent-unemployment-or-covid-19-spread/

Volunteers bring groceries to immigrants on lockdown. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

Trump Welcomes More Guest Workers Amid Crisis While Rejecting Asylum Seekers

Seasonal workers in California. Photo: Davis Turner/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

This type of exploitation hurts all U.S. workers, both jobless citizens and underpaid foreign workers, but the situation is rarely discussed in the media or in political debates.

By David L. Wilson, Truthout

April 11, 2020

Two recent news items neatly sum up U.S. immigration policy during the COVID-19 crisis.

Asylum seekers are now being turned away at the border without even a chance to make their asylum claims; the excuse for the new policy is a March 20 order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, officials say the administration may expand the recruitment of temporary agricultural workers. The purpose would be “to get enough migrant labor to keep the food supply moving” while the crisis drags on.[...]

Read the full article:

https://truthout.org/articles/trump-welcomes-more-guest-workers-amid-crisis-while-rejecting-asylum-seekers/