President Trump will sign an executive order halting immigration into the U.S. on Wednesday, he announced in an early morning tweet.
“I will be signing my Executive Order prohibiting immigration into our Country today,” he said.
“In the meantime, even without this order, our Southern Border, aided substantially by the 170 miles of new Border Wall & 27,000 Mexican soldiers, is very tight – including for human trafficking!” he added.
The president during a press briefing late Tuesday detailed his plans to suspend issuing green cards for at least 60 days.
Trump initially tweeted about the suspension Monday night, saying he wanted to protect American workers from competing with those seeking work from abroad during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It would be wrong and unjust for Americans laid off by the virus to be replaced with new immigrant labor flown in from abroad,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday. “We must first take care of the American worker.”
Several Democrats have accused the president of using the pandemic to achieve his longtime goal of limiting immigration.
Foreign nationals are already unable to seek permanent residency in the U.S., as many consulates have been closed since last month.