Immigration pattern in COVID 19 pandemic in the United States

Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), public health and racial tensions has rapidly risen as a top concern in the United States. In an effort of trying to limit the outbreak of COVID-19, president of United State, Donald Trump, has passed several laws that terminates visa for coming foreign workers, students and poses extreme restriction to prospective green-card holders .

The US banned Chinese foreign workers

History

Early 20^th century

After the Civil War and the Fourteen Amendment, racial tension and anxieties increased. That affects not only the American citizen but also gradually changes the racial component of immigration pattern. With an attempt to keep the hierarchical structure of American citizens in their homeland, early immigration laws heavily relied on personal background check in which immigrants violated social norms or belonged to certain racial groups would be excluded from entering the United States. Despite their claim to be non-discriminatory and equal opportunities to every settlers, "special privilege and generous naturalization statutes" to European immigrants.

By 1903, after first Immigration Control Act in 1891, most of immigration exclusion were due to racial ground, economic reasons which imposed threat to border security

Post World-War I

After the World-War I, immigration authorities have implemented the new system, in which medical inspection, VISA and passport standardization, which create a global standard later on in order to prevent outsider and ensure the border safety . However, despite the success of new system, the Immigration Act of 1924had encouraged the "ongoing racial project", in which it favors the European settlers and make prevention to non-White and Asian immigrants who deemed to be "unalterably foreign and unassimilable to the nation” from entering the U.S soil with the effort of security and counter terrorist attempts which could breach the U.S security information .

Post World-War II

Before World-War II, Mexican immigrants were viewed as scapegoat for poverty, drug trafficking, criminals. Thus, approximately, 415000 Mexican were deported between 1930-1940 . However, after the Great Depression, cheap labors from Mexican once again attracted farmers and industrial factories, nearly five millions Mexican were recruited as temporary workers . At the same time, the Chinese Exclusion Act were still going on, communist countries including Soviet Union and Cuba were listed amongst restrictive control. Since Nazi party made a genocide against Jewish people, Jewish communities had influenced the immigration policies and created refugee haven for Jewish people from European countries .

Since Cold War

All Visa allotted to family members and legal permanent residents, 6% of total Visa were given to refugee and one-tenth were qualified as members of professions who have ability to contribute to the economy.. Quota claimed to be no longer based on racial biases, even though the authorities had made an effort of increasing the diversity of immigration entry, it still limits to white immigrants from western Europe, and only 37% of the diversity program were appointed to the rest of non-White immigrants. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are built as a response to event 9/11 to tighten the security of the nation .

Donald Trump's policies

Before COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Trump policies mostly involve travel ban to Muslim communities from entering the United States, racial-segregation-related policies including restrictive illegal-Hispanic immigration reform which has separated thousand families. Besides favoring Protectionism in economic realm, he created social stress when imposing restriction to specific countries and cities including Haiti, Guatemala, El Salvador, Iran etc . In the recent cases involving banning and suspending Visa for all students and foreign workers, "H-1B visas, H-2B visas, H-4 visas, L-1 visas and certain J-1 visas", it impacted nearly 1.5 million students, workers and create a huge wave in protest and lawsuit against that signed bill

Distribution of Ethnicities in the U.S

White population is dominant which represents more than 62% of the whole population. According to government census in 2019, there are approximately 328 million people in the United States, the immigrants population account for almost 45 millions people

The impact of COVID-19 on immigration policy in the U.S

COVID-19 situation in the U.S

COVID-19 pandemic in the US

The total Death rate in the United States

The first case of coronavirus in the United Stated was confirmed in Washington State on Jan. 21, 2020.On Feb. 29, 2020, "the first COVID-19 death is reported in Washington state, after a man with no travel history to China dies on Feb. 28 at Evergreen Health Medical Center in Kirkland, Washington". The COVID-19 pandemic got worse during March and by the end of March, cases had occurred in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and all inhabited U.S. territories except American Samoa.

In response to the situation in March, President Donald Trump declared COVID-19 as a national emergency and “unlocked billions of dollars in federal funding to fight the disease’s spread.” However, the response of the U.S to the pandemic was slow in term of preparing the healthcare system for testing the virus and banning the travel restrictions. In March 2020, only less than 10 thousand tests were conducted .

By early May, the number of tests jumped to 6 million tests, and around 250 thousands per day; however experts claimed to be not enough for this trajectory of virus development . In a recent analysis of more than 1.3 million laboratory-confirmed cases that were reported in the United States between January and May 2020, 14% of patients required hospitalization, 2% were admitted to the intensive care unit, and 5% died .

While the first wave of Corona virus has not over, the second wave of infection began in June 2020. As of today, more than 4.6 millions confirmed cases in the U.S and more than 150 thousands deaths .

Executive actions in response to the pandemic

Border security and travel restriction

General travel restrictions to the U.S

In order to help slow the spread of COVID-19, the United States prohibits foreigners who have been to the following countries in the last 14 days from entering the U.S.

• China

• Iran

• European Schengen are (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City)

• United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)

• Republic of Ireland

• Brazil

Non-essential travel restrictions

There are thousands of people crossing the U.S-Canada border and US-Mexico border daily. As a result of COVID-19 pandemic, the three countries had an agreement on “restricting temporarily restricting all non-essential travel across its borders” aiming to avoid any unnecessary contact with others.

These restrictions were implemented on March 21, 2020 and “were originally in place for 30 days, subject to reevaluation and further extension in light of the fluid nature of the coronavirus pandemic.” Recently, the border closure was extended for another 30 days, until August 21.

Visa suspensions

US Work Visas temporary suspensions

On June 22, 2020 President Trump signed an executive prohibiting foreigners outside the U.S from using certain temporary employ-based visa till the end of 2020in order to "proclaim suspending entry of aliens who present a risk to the US labor market following the coronavirus outbreak" . The order also impacts the new applicants on L-1, H-1B, H-4B (for spouses of H-1B holder) and H-2B Visa (for non-agricultural workers).

The order will not have an effect on those who are already in the US.

Exchange-visitor program

The executive order on June 22, 2020 also affects the applicants on J-1 Exchange visitor program till the end of 2020. "J-1 Visa categories covered by this suspension include: intern, trainee, teacher, camp counselor, au pair, summer work travel."

Other suspensions

Refugee entry suspension

Trump administration in 2019 and 2020 has capped refugee admissions at 45 thousands, which is less than half of Obama administration (110 thousands) . Due to the expansion of Corona virus, United States officials have paused the entry to the U.S via refugee ports since March 2020, only 6000 applicants have been processed since then .

Green card suspension

On April, 2020, President Trump issued the executive order to suspend processing permanent residence (green card application) for 60 days to "protect U.S workers and conserve medical resources during the COVID-19 pandemic" . In June, the order was extended till the end of the December 2020.

Implication

The systemic discrimination against non-White citizens is sustained throughout the history, under social and extreme political influences. The COVID-19 pandemic is merely an event that push further the boundaries of that discriminatory act. By visualizing the prolonged discourses that immigrants have to face, there will be efforts of trying to solve and reduce this humanitarian and moral issues of discriminatory and racism to help people live and work in a better environment.