President Trump Plans to 'Temporarily Suspend Immigration' into US

WASHINGTON - President Trump is taking a stand on immigration in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. He plans to sign an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into the US. 

Trump says he made this decision "in light of the attack from the invisible enemy" and "the need to protect" American jobs. 

The White House released a statement saying: "President Trump is committed to protecting the health and economic well-being of American citizens as we face unprecedented times.  As President Trump has said, 'Decades of record immigration have produced lower wages and higher unemployment for our citizens, especially for African-American and Latino workers.'  At a time when Americans are looking to get back to work, action is necessary."

Democrats pushed back claiming the president is politicizing the pandemic. 

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TEXAS) called it "an attempt to divert attention away from Trump's failure to stop the spread of the coronavirus and save lives." 

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) called it "xenophobic scapegoating." 

Trump's move comes as several states begin to loosen restrictions, including South Carolina where some retail businesses are opening today. 

"We still encourage people to use curbside pickup and delivery and shipping so we can all stay home and get out of this sooner," said South Carolina residents Leslie and Catherine Gouge. "But we're excited about the future."

Tennessee is waiting a bit longer, announcing the "vast majority" will reopen May 1. 

Georgia has declared gyms, hair salons and bowling alleys can reopen Friday. 

"By taking this measured action, we will get Georgians back to work safely," said Gov. Brian Kemp (R). 

Kemp added that movie theaters and restaurants will be allowed to open Monday. 

But critics want to continue the lockdown, pointing to the 800 deaths and 20,000 cases of coronavirus in the state.

"I certainly cannot in good conscience say that I agree with this order and I will continue to use my voice as mayor of Atlanta ask people to continue to stay home, follow the science, and exercise common sense," said Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

California is not seeing the downward trend in cases that are needed to reopen. 

"Deaths continue to rise. Hospitalization numbers modestly continue to rise and ICU numbers beginning to flatten," said Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).  

New York City, the hardest-hit city in the country has canceled all non-essential events through June. The Big Apple is seeing the death numbers drop but is still reporting 1,000 new cases of the coronavirus each day. 

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