'In interest of American workers': US President Donald Trump suspends immigration visas till year-end

US President Donald Trump on Monday suspended the temporary work visas, including H-1B, for foreigners till the end of the year. It marks the latest effort to bar the entry of immigrants to the country. The White House has said that the measure prolongs the ban on US employment permits to year-end and broadens it to include H1-B visas used widely in the tech industry to ensure American workers take first priority as the nation starts recovering from the economic effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

More specifically, the new policy is "extending and expanding" on President Donald Trump`s April pause on issuing new green cards, which will continue beyond the initial 60-day period until the end of the year, according to a senior official of the Trump administration.

Under these reforms, the H-1B program will prioritise those workers who are offered the highest wage, ensuring that the highest-skilled applicants are admitted, the White House said.

"H-1B action is temporary but permanent action being taken on reforming the US visa system to one that is more "merit-based," a senior administration official told reporters at a briefing.

Trump is also expected to sign an executive order on Tuesday directing new restrictions on most H-1B, H-4, H-2B, J, and L visas, with some exceptions, lasting through December 31 - "frankly, because of the expanding unemployment," the official told reporters.

The White House, in a statement, said, "President Trump is building on this measure with an additional pause on several job-related non-immigrant visas--H-1Bs, H-2Bs without a nexus to the food-supply chain, certain H-4s, as well as Ls and certain Js--preserving jobs for American citizens."

It added, "President Trump is extending the pause on new immigrant visas through the end of the year to ensure we continue putting American workers first during our ongoing coronavirus recovery."

The statement also noted that many workers have been hurt through no fault of their own due to coronavirus and they should not remain on the sidelines while being replaced by new foreign labour.

Officials have said that any abuses with H-1B visas will be investigated by the US Labor Department (USDOL).

"The president has instructed us to get rid of the lottery" for such visas, a senior official added.

The US government said that the new visa restrictions through the end of the year will generate nearly 525,000 American jobs. "We`re hopeful that this is going to see broad, bipartisan support," the official said.

The new restrictions, however, have been exempted from medical workers, especially those involved in COVID-19 care or research.

Pegged as the COVID -19 or economic response, it is the administration's concerted effort to roll back the visas available to people overseas as a result of high unemployment in the US resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, the official noted.

A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll, cited by the White House, found that 65% of those polled support pausing immigration into the country, including 61% of minority respondents.

Earlier, although several major American companies, particularly in the tech sector, had urged the president to refrain from blocking the flow of foreign workers into the United States, Trump himself said that there would be very little exclusion from the new restrictions. He specified that the restrictions would be 'tight' and that is how they would likely have to be for a while.

This step is the latest in a series of measures that critics have accused the US President of implementing in the garb of pandemic response but are allegedly aimed at realising the president's longstanding goal of limiting immigration to the United States.

As a precursor, Trump had earlier in April put a temporary block on some foreigners from attaining permanent residence in the United States. He had also revised border policies, allowing rapid deportation of immigrants caught at the border and cutting off access to the US Asylum system.

The US government had also closed non-essential travel across the international borders with Mexico and Canada, a step that has been extended several times over.

It is to be noted that Donald Trump's strict stance on immigration, including travel bans and migrant detentions, is central to his pitch for re-election at the 2020 United States presidential election.

(With ANI inputs)