Democrats are slamming President Donald Trump’s tweet about his plans to sign an executive order to temporarily stop legal immigration into the United States to protect the American people as xenophobic and are heaping praise on immigrants, including illegal immigrants, whom they say are the heroes on the frontlines of the coronavirus battle.
Forbes reported on some of the pushback following Trump’s tweet:
Democrats slammed Trump for “xenophobic scapegoating,” while Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) tweeted: “The truth is many immigrants are on our frontlines, protecting us as doctors, nurses, health aids, farmworkers, and restaurant workers.”
“President Trump now seeks to distract us from his fumbled COVID-19 response by trying to put the blame on immigrants,” Nadler tweeted.
Nadler is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which helped oversee Donald Trump’s failed impeachment.
Nadler tweeted:
We need to come together to beat this disease, not attack each other and divide the country. This is a disgrace — demonizing so many of those who are serving on the front lines against COVID while the President shows himself as small and ineffective.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) tweeted:
From the beginning Trump has flailed about seeking someone to blame for his own failure. Obama. Governors. China. Speaker Pelosi. People of Asian descent. Immigration has nearly stopped and the US has far more cases than any other country.
This is just xenophobic scapegoating.
Failed presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar also weighed in on Trump’s announcement:
President Trump now seeks to distract us from his fumbled COVID-19 response by trying to put the blame on immigrants. The truth is many immigrants are on our front lines, protecting us as doctors, nurses, health aids, farmworkers, and restaurant workers.
“Many countries have taken measures to limit travel because of the coronavirus but Trump’s move to restrict travel from Canada, Mexico, China and the European Union, and now a proposed ban on all legal immigration, are among some of the most extreme,” Forbes reported.
Thomas Homan, Trump’s former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told Reuters: “It’s really not about immigration. It’s about the pandemic and keeping our country safer while protecting opportunities for unemployed Americans,” Forbes reported.
Republicans have also started to react to Trump’s announcement, including Rep. Josh Hawley (R-MO).
“A temporary pause on new immigration until American workers can get back on their feet is the right call by @realDonaldTrump https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1252418369170501639 …” Hawley tweeted.
Follow Penny Starr on Twitter