Suspension of immigration by the United States

Countries all over the world have imposed restrictions on travel and immigration so as to slow the spread of the pandemic. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has decided to suspend all immigration to the US for now in light of the current global situation. President Trump has assured that it is only a temporary suspension due to coronavirus concerns. This approach is completely different from Canada’s, where immigrants are still being welcomed with open arms.

What will the suspension entail?

President Donald Trump stated in his announcement that he is ready to sign an Executive Order that will temporarily suspend all US immigration from 22nd April, Wednesday. This announcement was first made via Twitter and then elaborated further during his daily coronavirus briefing the next day. In his tweet, President Trump said that his objective behind this move was twofold. Firstly, he wanted to contain the virus as much as possible, and secondly, he wished to preserve the jobs for Americans going through a rough patch.

During the evening briefing, he said that the administration had started working on the draft of the Executive Order, and it would be ready for his signature soon. The temporary suspension will continue for 60 days. This means that no permanent resident visas will be issued in this period. The President acknowledged that American workers had suffered a huge blow because of the dire economic consequences of the pandemic. He went on to mention that there will be some exceptions, but details were not given.

How does Canada differ?

On the other hand, Canada is still welcoming immigrants in spite of the pandemic. The country has introduced emergency measures and imposed travel restrictions on foreign nationals for now, but they are ready to accommodate temporary foreign workers, immigrants,  and international students. Foreign nationals can still submit their applications for immigration to Canada.