Wall Street Journal’s editorial board blasts Trump immigration move as ‘a political distraction’

The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board blasted President Trump’s decision to suspend immigration, saying it “looks like a political distraction.”

“The order’s details haven’t been disclosed, but this looks like a political distraction that could become a major restraint on economic growth if it lasts for any length of time,” wrote the editorial board in its column Wednesday.

Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. would stop issuing green cards for 60 days, an action he described as intended to help spread the coronavirus and to protect U.S. workers from foreign competition.

The Journal’s board questioned both those rationales.

It noted that there is “no evidence we’ve seen that immigrants are associated with the spread of Covid-19 more than anyone else” and nearly all new visas to foreigners have already been suspended.

It also added that “immigrants enhance American growth and jobs” and are providing essential work in the farming and health care sectors amid the pandemic.

“All of which suggests that Mr. Trump’s real calculation here is political,” the board wrote. “But the price of all this may be a slower economic recovery that will hurt the larger public.”

The Journal’s board often adopts a conservative, business-friendly stance. It has at times sided with Trump but has generally been at odds with the administration on immigration, particularly as a source of labor for American industry and agriculture.