Trump wants to keep border closed while demanding states open before it's safe
A new order would give the director of the CDC final say on when U.S. borders are reopened to immigrants.
Citing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration is moving to close the United States’ borders with Mexico and Canada indefinitely, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention closed the borders to nonessential travel, including tourism, on March 21, and the Trump administration has been deporting immigrants, even those seeking asylum, who cross the border from Mexico without documentation.
The new order, which the Times reported is still being reviewed by administration officials, would extend the border closures until the director of the CDC determined that the new coronavirus was not a threat.
Supposedly intended to keep Americans safe from the coronavirus, the order is under discussion even as Donald Trump is actively urging states to reopen.
“Good numbers coming out of States that are opening,” Trump tweeted Thursday morning. “America is getting its life back!”
He also celebrated a court decision on Wednesday in Wisconsin overturning the governor’s stay-at-home order.
Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, “was forced by the courts to let the State Open,” Trump tweeted on Thursday. “The people want to get on with their lives. The place is bustling!”
In recent weeks, Trump has encouraged Pennsylvania to reopen businesses more quickly; encouraged protests in Minnesota, Michigan, and Virginia against Democratic governors; and praised armed protesters against stay-at-home orders in Michigan as “very good people.”
Trump’s celebrations came as the Times reported that more than 1.3 million people in the United States have now tested positive for the new coronavirus, and at least 84,109 people have died.
This is the latest example of the Trump administration cracking down on immigration under the pretext of national security concerns during the coronavirus crisis.
In April, Trump signed an executive order banning immigrants from seeking permanent residency in the country.
Trump has also touted the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border as a way to keep Americans safe during the crisis.
“We need the Wall more than ever!” Trump tweeted in early March as the coronavirus spread.
The United States has significantly more coronavirus cases than Mexico.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
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