WASHINGTON, DC – FWD.us President Todd Schulte issued the following statement today on the extension and expansion of President Trump’s executive order dramatically limiting immigration:

“On the heels of a major loss at the Supreme Court – which sided with the overwhelming majority of the American public to reject President Trump’s efforts to deport DACA recipients – President Trump is once again attempting to shift blame to immigrants to distract from his terrible failure to handle the COVID-19 crisis.

“Massive restrictions to legal immigration – including restricting immigrants who contribute to medicine, science, and research in the United States, and who are working as we speak to develop treatments for coronavirus and other deadly diseases – will not only hinder efforts to save lives, but will prevent job creation and hurt our economy as our country struggles to recover. Bipartisan majorities in Congress have repeatedly rejected the President’s multiple attempts to cut legal immigration. This is a full-frontal attack on American innovation and our nation’s ability to benefit from attracting talent from around the world.

“Three years ago, when unemployment was at 4%, the President proposed the RAISE Act, which attempted to slash legal immigration by more than 50%. Today, with unemployment at more than 13%, the President is enacting the same cuts through executive order. Both times they—against all actual evidence—claimed they were necessary for economic growth and to help native-born Americans. Economic conditions have changed dramatically, but the administration’s efforts to radically restrict legal immigration have remained constant.

“The Trump administration should stop trying to create and exploit crises to enact the largest cuts to legal immigration in a century. This is deeply harmful to America.”