Administration Expands Ban on Legal Immigration – Pursuing Campaign Promise to Shut Down Legal Immigration

CONTACTS:
George Tzamaras 202-507-7649 gtzamaras@aila.org

WASHINGTON, DC - The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) denounces President Trump’s decision to block access to certain nonimmigrant workers until at least the end of the year, including H-1B, H-2B, J-1 and L-1 nonimmigrants and their family members. This ban, which has few exceptions, will harm employers, families, universities, hospitals, communities, and delay America’s economic recovery. The President also extended his administration’s April order banning the admission of legal permanent residents which has already separated families and weakened communities.

AILA President Jennifer Minear stated, “We are all still in the middle of an unprecedented global health and economic crisis that requires us to use all of the tools and resources available to keep Americans healthy and strengthen our economy. Being able to draw on the best and the brightest from around the world has always been an incredible advantage for America. This Presidential Proclamation ignores this reality and will make emerging from this crisis more difficult and expensive.”

AILA Executive Director Ben Johnson added, “We all want an economic recovery that will put Americans back to work, but blocking people with needed skills and the drive to contribute is counterproductive. Today’s measures are a campaign tactic designed to draw attention away from this administration’s failures to protect the American people and strengthen the economy. We are all facing a unique challenge. This is not the time to block innovators, job creators, healthcare workers, seasonal workers, and others whose talents could help sustain us during this crisis, and help us build a better and brighter future.”

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The American Immigration Lawyers Association is the national association of immigration lawyers established to promote justice, advocate for fair and reasonable immigration law and policy, advance the quality of immigration and nationality law and practice, and enhance the professional development of its members.

Cite as AILA Doc. No. 20062220.