Trump to suspend all immigration into US

US President Donald Trump has said he will be signing an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States.

"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.

He offered no details as to what immigration programmes might be affected by the order. The White House did not immediately elaborate on Trump's announcement.

The development is the latest in a string of moves cracking down on immigration as the coronavirus spreads in the US.

The US has by far the world's largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 42,000 deaths and 774,000 infections on Monday.

In late March, Trump said the US would swiftly return any migrants who attempted to cross into the country from Mexico and Canada. He argued that migrants crossing the border threatened to worsen the US's coronavirus outbreak.

Dhaka/Mukul