Photo: AFP

WASHINGTON, April 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday night that he will sign an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration to the United States.

The decision is made in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and "the need to protect the jobs" of Americans, Trump said on Twitter.

It was not immediately clear when or how the order would be carried out.

The number of coronavirus cases in the United States has exceeded 786,000, with more than 42,000 deaths, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University on Monday.