Statement on Donald Trump's Announcement That He Will Suspend Immigration to U.S. Amidst Coronavirus Concerns

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On Monday, President Donald Trump announced via Twitter, his preferred venue for communicating with the American people, that he intends to issue an executive order that will suspend all legal immigration to the United States, ostensibly to protect Americans from the coronavirus pandemic. The announced policy is part and parcel of his demonization and marginalization of immigrants and people of color, using concern for public health as a pretext for his draconian and extreme immigration policies. 

The Stonewall Democratic Club is calling on Congress to pass a resolution strongly condemning this action. The House must also oppose the inadequate $480 billion Senate bill passed on Tuesday that failed to provide funding for securing our elections, protections for front line workers, additional economic support for workers and families, money for states and local governments, funding for the USPS, or rent and mortgage freezes. Any stimulus package that comes out of Congress must address these issues.

Moreover, the United States now leads the world in COVID-19 infections and fatalities. Mr. Trump’s immigration announcement is just one of his near-daily attempts to divert focus away from the crucial business of funding and supplying COVID-19 tests and antibody tests to the American people. These distractions are meant to mitigate the fallout from this administration's massive failure to coordinate a federal response to yet another national crisis. We need tests. We needed them yesterday. 

“Once again, Donald Trump is painting immigrants as the ‘other’ and using them as a stalking horse to hide his own failures in this crisis,” said Stonewall President Lester Aponte. “Our economy is in trouble and tens of thousands have died in this pandemic, yet Trump wants us to believe that immigrants are the boogie man. We cannot let Trump take advantage of a national crisis to further his racist anti-immigrant agenda.”   

Stonewall calls on Congress to put a stop to this unconstitutional power grab, uphold our nation’s proud tradition of welcoming immigrants to our shores, and end these distractions from the crucial, pressing issues we face as Americans in this unprecedented crisis. 

About Stonewall Democratic Club

Founded in 1975, Stonewall is one of the nation’s oldest LGBTQ+, feminist, and progressive political groups. It serves as a powerful grassroots non-profit political organization for progressive LGBTQ+ Democrats and straight allies seeking to effect political change.

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