Democratic Party's presumptive nominee for the White House Joe Biden has alleged that the immigration rhetoric of President Donald Trump is aimed at distracting everyone from his "failure" in handling the coronavirus crisis which has killed over 45,000 people in the US.
The former vice president’s remarks came hours after Trump told reporters that he will halt issuing of new green cards or legal permanent residency for the next 60 days as part of his executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into the US.
“Rather than execute a swift and aggressive effort to ramp up testing, Donald Trump is tweeting incendiary rhetoric about immigrants in the hopes that he can distract everyone from the core truth: he's moved too slowly to contain this virus, and we are all paying the price for it,” Biden said.
There is a need to screen travellers coming to the United States for COVID-19 — whether they are US citizens or not — and restricted travel policies in order to contain the virus are rational, Biden said.
“But it is irrational to refuse to focus the full force of the presidency on producing and distributing the number of tests we need to determine whether all people entering the US — regardless of citizenship status — are carrying COVID-19, and to successfully contain the virus.
“That's one of the most glaring failures of this president's response and sending inflammatory tweets to try to hide it helps no one. Mr. president, focus on getting the tests,” said the former vice president.
Later in a virtual fund-raiser, Biden called for supporting young companies and noted investments that other countries are making and their success in "attracting talented immigrants from all over the world”.
“Now the president Trump's policies are doing the exact opposite," Biden alleged.
Joining Biden, congresswoman Nancy Pelosi alleged that Trump is engaged in distractions.
“He is engaged in distractions like immigration, distractions like supporting people in the street. They are all distractions away from the fact, the known fact, that he's a total failure when it comes to testing,” Pelosi said.
There are measured and productive approaches to curbing the spread of COVID-19, namely ensuring equal access to testing and treatment; releasing individuals from ICE and CBP detention; and suspending interior enforcement, said Andrea Flores, deputy policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Equality Division.
“Unfortunately, president Trump seems more interested in fanning anti-immigrant flames than in saving lives. We cannot allow president Trump to exploit this pandemic to advance his racism and xenophobia,” Flores said.
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum executive director Sung Yeon Choimorrow in a statement said that scapegoating immigrants is not the solution to ending the pandemic.
“Immigrants, especially immigrant women, are working on the frontlines of this crisis, ensuring we are fed and caring for the sick -- in short, keeping us alive -- often without benefits or access to healthcare and at great personal sacrifice,” she said, adding that targeting them and preventing them from being united with their families, especially now, is unjustifiable and wrong.
Church World Service condemned the remarks of Trump.
“While hundreds of people are dying each day in this country, President Trump continues to capitalise on fear and push his hardline anti-immigrant agenda. "Immigrants create jobs, they don’t take them away. As entrepreneurs, as supply chain workers, as healthcare professionals in our hospitals and elder care facilities, immigrants are keeping our nation going during this crisis,” said its president and CEO John L McCullough.
However, the Trump Campaign defended the new immigration policy.
“President Trump’s immigration policy just makes sense as the United States fights the war against the coronavirus. He has two main goals: to protect the health and safety of Americans and to safeguard the economy. This decision addresses both,” said Tim Murtaugh, Trump 2020 communications director.
“At a time when our economy has been artificially interrupted by the virus, introducing more competition for jobs would worsen unemployment and depress wages, especially in Black and Latino communities.
“Preventing further entrance of people potentially infected with the virus is an additional safety measure for the country,” he added.
The US has registered over 824,600 coronavirus cases and more than 45,290 deaths -- the highest in the world.
