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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
World
RFI

Trump to suspend US immigration, citing Coronavirus

El Presidente de Estados Unidos Donald Trump escucha durante la sesión informativa diaria del Grupo de Trabajo sobre el Coronavirus de la Casa Blanca en la sala de reuniones de James Brady el 10 de abril de 2020 en la Casa Blanca en Washington, DC. GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

On Twitter, he cited "the attack from the invisible enemy", and the need to protect the jobs of Americans, but he gave no details.

It was not clear what programmes might be affected and whether the president would be able to carry out the order.

Critics say the government is using the pandemic to crack down on immigration.

Mr Trump's announcement late on Monday came as the White House argued the worst of the pandemic is over and the country can begin reopening.

The restrictions on people's movement, implemented by many states to curb the spread of the virus, have paralysed parts of the economy.

Over the last four weeks, more than 20 million Americans have made jobless claims. That amounts to roughly as many jobs as employers had added over the previous decade.

The US has over 787,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and more than 42,000 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the pandemic globally.

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