US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with patients who have recovered from the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Observers believe that the US President Donald Trump is trying to distract people's attention from his poor performance in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and win more support in the upcoming presidential election, following Trump pressing the pause button on issuing green cards. 

Trump announced a 60-day halt in issuing green cards to snub immigration and ease competition for Americans to get jobs, said reports. It remains unknown whether those currently under processing will be affected.  

US media disclosed that over 22 million Americans have lost their jobs amid the pandemic and some analysts believe that the economic devastation will impact on Trump's election in November. 

Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Monday that most actions that Trump has done recently were for the election, including the green card ban. 

According to Li, The Trump administration has been characterized by narrow-minded xenophobia and anti-globalization, which has damaged America's cultural tradition and confidence in openness. The suspension of immigration is pandering to voters' nationalism,which has been played upon well before the US-Mexico border wall he touted. 

Besides election pressure, the root of the ban is Trump's poor performance in containing the coronavirus. The ban would divert people's attention to "safeguarding employment" from his failure in fighting the virus, Li noted. 

The Trump administration issued 462,000 visas in the 2019 fiscal year, down from 617,000 issued by the Barack Obama administration in 2016.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that some potential immigrants from countries like Mexico, Ireland and South Korea swarmed to lawyers with emails expressing panic, worrying about their jobs and education, as well as their private lives.  

Li said although the new policy is not tailored to any specific country, Latin American countries would be affected most considering the large numbers of them in the US waiting to get green cards. The rejection might have some effect on the relationship between the US and Latin American countries.

Latinos are the largest minority group in the US, overtaking African Americans. According to 2017 statistics, there are about 58.85 million Latinos in the country, or 18.1 percent of the population. The US census authority predicts that Latinos will make up 28.6 percent of the population by 2060, Wen Wei Pao reported.