Crisis within a Crisis: Immigration in the United States in a Time of COVID-19

This article in MPI’s Policy Beat reviews the various immigration policy changes implemented by the Trump administration ostensibly in response to the coronavirus pandemic. These changes include greatly restricted entry at U.S. land borders with Mexico and Canada (for example, by barring the entry of asylum seekers); suspension of hearings in immigration courts for non-detained individuals; the suspension of in-person processing services by USCIS, and of routine visa services by U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. The article also highlights the public health consequences of the detention of immigrants in ICE facilities where they are at risk of an outbreak of COVID-19. The authors also discuss the fear many immigrants have of accessing health care with the administration’s new public charge rule going into effect in February just as the pandemic was taking hold in the U.S. (even though USCIS has said that treatment related to COVID-19 will not be included in a public charge analysis). There is also some discussion of the exclusion of immigrants from the financial relief legislation passed thus far by Congress in response to the economic fallout from the pandemic. At the end of the article is a bibliography of links to Trump administration policies and other resources related to immigration and COVID-19. (Maurice Belanger, Maurice Belanger Consulting)

Download now or view online.