TUCSON— This week, President Trump issued an executive order to suspend the allocation of green cards for 60 days. In response, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva issued the following statement:

“Don’t be fooled. This executive order isn’t about protecting jobs. It’s about xenophobia. Since announcing his candidacy for the Presidency in 2015, Trump and advisers like Stephen Miller have made it an explicit goal to end immigration as we know it. Now under the cover of a national emergency, he is attempting to distract our nation from his administration’s disastrous mismanagement of this crisis.

“President Trump’s response to COVID-19 is a national disgrace. Tens of thousands have died under his watch, most Americans still can’t access COVID-19 tests, and nurses, doctors and essential workers are begging for PPE on social media. Yet, the President remains focused on pushing a false narrative that immigrants are ‘stealing jobs.’

“Instead of demonizing immigrants who are working in essential jobs and services, the President should be focused on access to testing and treatment that he has so far failed to secure and that the American people so desperately need.”

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