Trump says will sign executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into US
Washington: President Donald Trump has said that he will sign an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into America, amid the coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 40,000 people in the US, the country with the most fatalities in the pandemic.
The number of people killed in the US due to COVID-19 has reached 42,094, according to Johns Hopkins University, and more than 750,000 cases have been confirmed.
"In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States! Trump said in a tweet late on Monday night.
Details of the Trump's executive order were not immediately known. He also did not indicate when he will sign such an order.
While Trump talked about suspending immigration visa, the H-1B visa, which is more popular among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa. But his reasoning that he needs to protect jobs of American citizens indicates that non-immigrant work visas too might be on his target.
The United States, due to coronavirus, has experienced a record layoff. As off last week, a record number of 22 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits.
Trump has already closed the Northern and Southern border that attracts a large number of illegal immigrants. Travel restrictions and closing of consulate services in many countries including India are already having an impact on issuing of new H-1B visas.
Last month, the United States suspended all routine visa services around the world due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
Globally, more than 2.4 million people have been infected with the virus and over 165,000 killed, according to the the univeristy tracker.
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Lokayukta raids govt officials in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): The Lokayukta on Thursday conducted simultaneous raids at the premises of several government officials across different districts of Karnataka in connection with alleged possession of disproportionate assets, officials said.
The searches were carried out at multiple locations linked to officials working in various government departments in districts including Bengaluru, Mandya, Dharwad, Hassan, Mysuru, Vijayapura and Yadgir, among others, they said.
According to Lokayukta officials, the raids targeted officials holding posts such as Assistant Executive Engineer, Junior Engineer, Deputy Electrical Inspector and Taluk Backward Classes Welfare Officer.
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Among those raided was Assistant Executive Engineer M C Satyanarayana of the Hassan Municipal Corporation.
High drama unfolded during the raid at Satyanarayana’s residence in Hassan, where Lokayukta officials were forced to wait outside the house for more than an hour before gaining access as the door was not opened, sources said.
When Satyanarayana failed to respond to requests to open the gate, officials attempted to enter the house by climbing to the first floor.
In another case, officials conducted searches at the residence of Chief Engineer Vasantappa Nayak of Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited located in Akshaya Colony in Hubballi, sources said.
Currently serving in Bengaluru, Nayak had been transferred from Hubballi to Bengaluru in April last year. Officials are carrying out searches at his residence in Akshaya Colony, they said.
The raids were conducted by multiple teams of Lokayukta officials early in the morning at the residences and offices of the suspects following complaints regarding disproportionate assets.
