Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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Experts Weigh Impact of US Immigration Ban on Chinese Communists

Lin Yang

   The United States has imposed a broad immigration ban on members of the
   Chinese Communist Party (CCP), blocking them from becoming U.S.
   citizens or lawful permanent residents. Experts said the move further
   raised tensions between the two countries but might not have as severe
   an impact as previous measures.

   U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a [1]policy alert
   last Friday that said: "Unless otherwise exempt, any immigrant who is
   or has been a member of or affiliated with the Communist or any other
   totalitarian party, domestic or foreign, is inadmissible to the United
   States."

   The move came as top Trump administration officials ramp up criticism
   of the CCP for its role in covering up the coronavirus outbreak.

   During a meeting with top diplomats from Japan, Australia and India
   this week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the pandemic crisis
   "was made infinitely worse by the Chinese Communist Party's cover-up."

   The New York Times reported in July that the Trump administration was
   then considering a sweeping travel ban on the 92 million members of the
   CCP.

   'Ongoing deterioration'

   Neil Thomas, a senior researcher at the Paulson Institute, a
   nonpartisan institution that studies the U.S.-China relationship, said
   he thought the new policy was unlikely to have much impact on the CCP's
   effort to influence public opinion in the U.S.

   "This is part of ongoing deterioration in U.S.-China relations but is
   unlikely to significantly affect Beijing's efforts to influence policy
   in the United States, which mostly do not require a green card or a
   U.S. passport, such as traditional diplomacy, economic coercion and
   online propaganda," he told VOA.

   Some experts viewed the new immigration policy as part of the Trump
   administration's strategy to distinguish the CCP from ordinary Chinese
   citizens. But the Times said the U.S. government has no knowledge of
   the CCP membership.

References

   1. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-manual-updates/20201002-PartyMembership.pdf

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