The reason was that the GOP was allegedly looking for an excuse to close the borders and further their anti-immigration agenda, and used the pandemic as an excu

The reason was that the GOP was allegedly looking for an excuse to close the borders and further their anti-immigration agenda, and used the pandemic as an excuse. "The president’s chief adviser on immigration, Stephen Miller, had long tried to halt migration based on public health, without success. Then came the coronavirus."[1] "The idea that immigrants carry infections into the country echoes a racist notion with a long history in the United States that associates minorities with disease."[1] [1]: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/03/us/coronavirus-immigration-stephen-miller-public-health.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/03/us/coronavirus-immigratio...