An immigration attorney in Bridgeport says that President Donald Trump's executive order to temporarily suspend immigration due to coronavirus could affect thousands trying to get green cards.

The Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants is helping 30 people with immigration, but after Trump's tweet, it doesn't know what's going to happen to them.

"The immigrant population serves as a backbone in our health care system, in our food production," says CIRI President and CEO Susan Schnitzer.

Trump says he's suspending immigration "to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens."

Immigration groups and attorneys are trying to figure out what exactly this means.

Alex Meyerovich, an immigration attorney, says the biggest group to be affected is people trying to get their green cards and work visas, even those that are already in Connecticut.

"People who are trying to bring their fiances or their siblings to the United States might not be able to do that," says Meyerovich. "They may get stuck in their home country for an uncertain amount of time."

Sen. Chris Murphy called the move a potentially illegal political stunt.

"The president is looking right now to distract the American public from his own failings," Murphy says. "He's attacking WHO. He is now going back to his tried-and-true playbook of attacking immigrants."

Advocates say a pandemic is the worst time to ban immigrants.

Trump clarified his tweet Tuesday evening, saying that the "pause" on immigration would last for 60 days and would apply only to those seeking green cards.