WASHINGTON — Under the cloak of a pandemic and the convulsions of anti-racist protests, the Trump administration continues to advance its policies to restrict legal immigration, halting the flow of foreign workers and raising the bar for asylum seekers hoping for sanctuary. If adopted, the rules would lay a framework of restrictionist immigration policies that can be enforced well after the pandemic subsides. The administration last month extended a coronavirus border rule that has effectively blocked nearly 43,000 migrants from seeking asylum at the southwest border, according to Customs and Border Protection data released on Friday. In April, President Trump issued an executive order temporarily suspending the issuance of green cards to many outside the United States and is expected to limit certain visas issued to immigrants seeking temporary work in the country. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued an emergency rule on Thursday night barring colleges from granting virus relief funds to foreign and undocumented students, including tens of thousands protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program, or DACA.

Source: New York Times June 12, 2020 09:01 UTC