NewsWeek, April 2020
President Donald Trump tweeted on Monday night that his administration would be suspending all immigration to the United States to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the administration has filled in the details, blocking all green cards for 60 days while still permitting temporary workers.
But scapegoating immigrants won’t protect Americans from COVID-19. In fact, the Trump administration’s ant-immigration policies are making the coronavirus crisis worse.
Since 2012, I have researched immigrants’ health care access. My conversations with immigrants, health care providers and local advocates reveal that a preoccupation with border security makes us sicker—and may explain why we are grappling with the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world.
