President Trump’s Proclamation 10052 (Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak) was issued on June 22 at FAIR’s urging, but is set to expire on December 31. You heard that right – it ends in just a couple of days.
This critical proclamation suspended the entry of many foreign guest workers, including those under the particularly egregious H-1B and H-2B programs. It also extended Proclamation 10014 issued on April 22, which suspended the entry of certain new legal immigrants who do not already have an approved visa.
While the unemployment rate has fallen, too many Americans are still looking for work and the economic outlook remains bleak. If this proclamation is allowed to lapse, then companies will return to exploiting cheap foreign labor. More Americans will be pushed out of their jobs and that could set the economy back even further.
To make sure this doesn’t happen, FAIR President Dan Stein sent a letter to the White House urging President Trump to extend the proclamation well into 2021. If Joe Biden seeks to end it, he will bear the responsibility for opening the guest worker and legal immigration floodgates at the worst possible time.
The text of the letter is below and it can also be found here.
December, 29 2020
President Donald J. Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear President Trump:
Despite your valiant efforts, the economic crisis set in motion by COVID-19 has had an unprecedented effect on the American worker, with no end in sight. As you recognized over the summer, these effects are exacerbated by an immigration system that operates on autopilot, allowing millions of legal immigrants and guest workers to come in and compete for jobs. We cannot return to this deeply-flawed normal anytime soon.
Therefore we are writing to urge you to extend Proclamation 10052 issued on June 22, 2020 (Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak), which is set to expire at the end of the year. This critical Proclamation suspended the entry of many foreign guest workers, including those under the particularly egregious H-1B and H-2B programs. It also extended Proclamation 10014 issued on April 22, 2020, which suspended the entry of certain new legal immigrants who do not already have an approved visa.
Mr. President, putting American workers first has been your top priority, and Proclamation 10052 did just that. You withstood intense pressure from powerful business interests that continue to demand more cheap foreign labor, even as they have laid-off an unprecedented number of American workers. I urge you to extend this proclamation well into 2021 in an effort to further protect American workers and their families during these trying times.
If Joe Biden does end up entering the Oval Office and quickly rescinds this Proclamation, he will have to answer to the American people and tell them why he decided to increase immigration and restore unfettered access to guest workers in the midst of the greatest economic crisis in living memory.
On behalf of FAIR members, staff, and myself, thank you for all you have done over the past four years.
Sincerely,
Dan Stein
President
Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)