President Trump confirmed on Wednesday that migrants arriving at the United States-Mexico border will be turned back to Mexico to stave off additional coronavirus outbreaks.

During a White House press briefing, Trump said he would be invoking 42 U.S. Code § 265, which allows the federal government to suspend entry of foreign nationals over risks of spreading a communicable disease.

“On asylum seekers and people who cross the southern border illegally, are you planning to invoke 42 USC 265 which would allow you to prohibit entry of certain people across the border?” a reporter asked Trump.

“The answer is yes,” Trump said.

When asked when the order would take effect, Trump said, “Very soon, probably today.” The stopping of migrant traffic at the southern border is likely to mimic Trump’s newly announced shutdown of the U.S.-Canada border.

The order does not equate to a closing of the southern border, as Trump noted, because essential traffic will continue. The same carve-out has been made for the northern border entry suspension.

As Breitbart News reported, nearly 151,000 border crossers and illegal aliens have been apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border since October 2019 from 72 affected countries. Since then, 1,657 Chinese nationals have been apprehended at the southern border. About 341 of these Chinese nationals sought to enter the U.S. illegally just within the last few months.

At the U.S.-Canada border, nearly 10,400 foreign nationals were deemed inadmissible or apprehended in January and February. In January, alone, northern border agents encountered nearly 3,600 foreign nationals.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.