Visa ban on immigrant and non-immigrant workers by the Trump administration

President Trump issued a proclamation on June 22, 2020, barring many categories of foreign workers from entering the US. The White House justified this decision as a preemptive one to protect US workers suffering  from unemployment and job insecurity in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The move arrives on the tails of a prior proclamation issued on April 22, which banned immigrant visas, affecting those who wish to permanently move and reside  in the US. The more recent bans encompassed nonimmigrant, temporary work visas like H1-B, H2-B, J, and L visas, as well. It is important to note that the visa restrictions only apply to those who seek to enter the nation. Immigrants and nonimmigrants already residing in the US can remain and apply for jobs.

The above immigration restrictions will stay in effect until December 31, 2020, after which President Trump, along with the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Homeland Security will make the decision to end, modify, or extend the ban based on the state of the labor market. 

According to the Proclamation released by The White House, such rigid measures on foreign immigration are necessary to protect jobs for US workers. Due to the pandemic, approximately 20 million Americans filed for unemployment. The Trump administration claimed that, given these circumstances, “we must be mindful of the impact of foreign workers on the United States labor market, particularly in an environment of high domestic unemployment and depressed demand for labor.” Essentially, The White House believes stringent immigration measures will revive the economy and accelerate job growth for American nationals. 

When considering the years before the pandemic, President Trump’s view on immigrant visas was always flippant. Although he largely stood by his idea of building a wall along the US-Mexico border, his views on H-1B visas have shifted several times. Early on his campaign, Trump released his immigration proposal, which argued that foreign workers are hurting American employment rates and should be limited. Trump criticized the H-1B program and claimed it was giving away many entry-level IT jobs to workers from overseas for cheaper salaries. However, two months later, when asked about his stance during the Repbublican debate on CNBC , Trump took a more moderate approach. He said he supported foreign visas for bringing in talent from out of the country, though he said the visa program “must follow the laws”.  When Trump was asked the same question a few months later in the March, 2016 Republican debate, he answered his view on the H-1B was “changing” and said, “I’m softening the position because we have to have talented people in this country”. 

After his successful election, President Trump signed the “Buy American and Hire American” executive order in early 2017. He asked the attorney general and secretaries of State, Labor and Homeland Security to “suggest reforms to help ensure that H-1B visas are awarded to the most-skilled or highest-paid beneficiaries”. In the previous years, H-1B visas were afforded to foreign workers through a lottery system, which allowed for more diversity and an equal opportunity for unskilled workers. However, Trump proposed to have the lottery system removed in favor of choosing workers in higher positions and those making higher salaries, which will exclude many thousands of immigrants who work day jobs to survive. Despite this proposal in 2017, the lottery system remains intact today, and no severe restriction was placed on nonimmigrant visas.

However, the pandemic caused a paradigm shift in both Trump’s rhetoric and policy toward immigrants. In both proclamations issued in April and June, The White House referred to the entry of foreign workers as “detrimental to the interests of the United States”. 

Another bold decision on immigration came early July with the Trump administration requiring international students with F1 visas to leave the country if they are taking online-only classes. These are students financially supporting US  institutions and its economy and are residing in the US legally. Yet, The White House noted the international students who fail to leave will be subject to dire consequences including “initiation of removal proceedings” through US Imigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As of now, the ban has been revoked and foreign students can remain in the country safely. 

There was no specific reasoning or explanation provided as to why the Trump administration was taking this strict measure against foreign students in the first place. It did fall in line with the most recent efforts by the President to curtail the number of immigrants given access to the American economy and resources. It could also be a ploy to encourage universities to offer more in-person classes, which is widely touted by Trump as essential in the fall. 

Looking further into the matter, restrictions on student visas exhibited two faults in the President’s own immigration position. For one, Trump tweeted in August, 2015, “When foreigners attend our great colleges & want to stay in the US, they should not be thrown out of our country.” Additionally, in the prior proclamations regarding immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, the administration promised the restrictions would only affect those seeking to enter the US not those who are residing here currently. The move against student visas contradicted both stances as The White House urged international students currently living in the US (taking online-only classes) to leave the nation. Many of the nation’s top universities, initiated by Harvard and MIT,  sued the Trump administration regarding this decision. “Massachusetts is home to thousands of international students who should not fear deportation or be forced to put their health and safety at risk in order to advance their education,” Maura Healy, the attorney general, said in a statement. “This decision from ICE is cruel, it’s illegal, and we will sue to stop it.” 

Harvard and MIT said in a joint statement that the new directive would prevent many of their 9000 combined international students, as well as the hundreds of thousands of students at other universities across the country, from staying in the US. Owing to immense backlash, the Trump administration revoked the order only a week after the issuing.

Yet, The White House continues to maintain the prior bans on immigrant and nonimmigrant visas are necessary to lift the US out of the economic recession caused by the pandemic. Several major US businesses and institutions panned the President’s decision. The US Chamber of Commerce said that Trump adopted a “severe and sweeping attempt to restrict legal immigration,” which could impair economic recovery, not aid. “Putting up a ‘not welcome’ sign for engineers, executives, IT experts, doctors, nurses and other workers won’t help our country, it will hold us back,” said Thomas J. Donohue, the chief executive of the US Chamber of Commerce. “Restrictive changes to our nation’s immigration system will push investment and economic activity abroad, slow growth and reduce job creation.”

The IT sector is the most impacted by visa restrictions, especially in regard to H-1B. The US technology companies and outsourcing firms use the H-1B visa to hire 85,000 new foreign specialists each year. Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Google asked The White House to rethink its decisions. The Information Technology Industry Council, a Washington D.C. based trade group that represents the four tech giants, underscored that their industry relies heavily on high-skilled laborers and foreign students obtaining technical degrees. 

According to the New American Economy, every H-1B visa that is issued generates 1.83 new jobs over the following seven years. With 85,000 H-1B visas issued per year, even a freeze on foreign workers for a single year would cost the US a total of 155,550 jobs. There are also long term consequences because the foreign students and skilled workers of today help shape the future of tomorrow. Space X founder Elon Musk and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella both used H-1B visas to initially live and work in the country. 

Beyond an economic point of view, the visa restrictions are personally detrimental to the more than half a million immigrants who hope to make a life in America. Take the story of  Sara, a medical researcher from South India. She is staying with her husband and son in New York. As reported by the Verge, Sara is worried she will be unable to return to India if her parents, who are both above 80, are to fall ill. Sara is due for a visa extension on her H-1B and she cannot reenter the US if she were to leave the country. As COVID-19 infections surge in India, Sara wonders what will happen if her parents become infected. She will need to make the decision to abandon her job in the US or abandon her parents.

A similar decision faced Shreeya Thussa, an international student at University of California at Berkeley. She is a junior studying Molecular Biology, and she is working on her medical school applications this summer. As Berkley announced they are providing online-only classes in the fall, the student ban would force Shreeya back to India, and rethink her career plans for the near future. Shreeya said the last few weeks have been stressful and it was difficult to decode the mixed messages she was receiving from her university and the government. Fortunately, the student ban order was revoked, which Shreeya described as a “relief” and some return to normalcy in her life. 

The above examples, among many, illustrate the human cost of the visa restrictions. The coronavirus pandemic brought unprecedented mass infection and death to the US, along with enormous economic upheaval. As the 2020 election draws near and President Trump is facing steadily declining odds, his primary focus is on rebuilding the economy. It is clear he hopes to preserve American jobs by cutting out foreign talent, whether this will work in the favor of businesses in the long term is the crux of the debate. Additionally, the human cost to these visa bans must not be ignored. These are students and mothers and fathers who are immigrating to the US. in hopes of the “American Dream”. Driving them back from the country may prove irresponsible both on a personal, individual level and on a wider economic scale. 

Sri Polkampally

References

1. “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak.” The White House, The United States Government, 22 June 2020, www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-suspending-entry-aliens-present-risk-u-s-labor-market-following-coronavirus-outbreak/.
2. “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the COVID-19 Outbreak.” The White House, The United States Government, 22 Apr. 2020, www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-suspending-entry-immigrants-present-risk-u-s-labor-market-economic-recovery-following-covid-19-outbreak/.
3. Khalid, Asma. “What’s In Donald Trump’s Immigration Plan And How It Could Affect The GOP.” NPR, NPR, 17 Aug. 2015, www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/08/17/432605103/whats-in-donald-trumps-immigration-plan.
4. Lee, Michelle. “Donald Trump Flip-Flops, Then Flips and Flops More on H-1B Visas.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 21 Mar. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/03/21/donald-trump-flip-flops-then-flips-and-flops-more-on-h-1b-visas/.
5. Jordan, Miriam, et al. “Trump Visa Rules Seen as Way to Pressure Colleges on Reopening.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 July 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/us/student-visas-coronavirus.html.
6. Trump, Donald J. “When Foreigners Attend Our Great Colleges & Want to Stay in the U.S., They Should Not Be Thrown out of Our Country.” Twitter, Twitter, 18 Aug. 2015, twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/633695559900073984.
7. Miroff, Nick. “Trump’s New Restrictions on Foreign Workers, Explained.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 23 June 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/trump-visa-restrictions-explained/2020/06/23/78c25baa-b53b-11ea-9b0f-c797548c1154_story.html.
8. Goulimis, Nicky. “Commentary: How Trump’s Misguided H-1B Visa Ban Will Devastate Our Economy.” Fortune, Fortune, 24 June 2020, www.fortune.com/2020/06/24/trump-h1b-visa-immigration-ban/.
9. “The H-1B Employment Effect.” New American Economy, www.newamericaneconomy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/H1B_Effect.pdf.
10. Brandom, Russell. “The Human Cost of Trump’s Guest Worker Ban.” The Verge, The Verge, 29 June 2020, www.theverge.com/21306188/guest-worker-ban-trump-h1b-visa-immigration-stamp-entry.
11. Alvarez, Priscilla. “Trump Administration Drops Restrictions on Online-Only Instruction for Foreign Students.” ABC57, 14 July 2020, www.abc57.com/news/trump-administration-drops-restrictions-on-online-only-instruction-for-foreign-students.