President Donald Trump extends the ban on new green cards and work visas.
Photographer: Mark Wilson / Getty Images
Photographer: Mark Wilson / Getty Images
President Donald Trump extended the ban on new green cards and work visas until months after he stepped down, citing continued weakness in the U.S. labor market due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump on Thursday signed a proclamation extending through March 31 immigration restrictions that he put into effect for the first time in April and renewed in June.
“The effects of COVID-19 on U.S The labor market and the health of American communities are a matter of continuing national concern, and the considerations present “in previous proclamations” have not been eliminated, “Trump said.
The extent of the restrictions, which include the freezing of new H-1B and H-4 visas used by technology workers, continues Trump’s aggressive campaign to limit immigration to the United States of various types during his term.
The March extension means that the restrictions will be in place when President-elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20.
Technology companies and the United States Chamber of Commerce, the country’s largest business lobbying organization, have criticized the bans as damaging the country’s economy. The chamber and other commercial groups have processed to block restrictions.
Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, is among the companies that have expressed support for a court order blocking Trump’s policy.
The unemployment rate in the United States in November was 6.7%, compared to 14.7% in April, at the height of pandemic-related business strikes, but more than double the 3.5% rate in February. The December unemployment rate will be released on January 8.