As Americans woke up to a new president-elect on November 6th, a new focus of uncertainty emerged for millions of foreigners across the United States. The Trump campaign turned immigration into its central “boogeyman” issue to secure the popular vote. He personally pushed falsehoods about Haitians under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) reportedly eating pet cats and dogs in Springfield, OH. He also doubled down on the rhetoric about immigrants “taking jobs from Americans,” and he emphasized the creation of another deportation force augmented by the US military and featuring massive detention camps.
Immigration law firms have been looking into the potential implications of another Trump administration, which would likely feature many of the chaotic executive orders and policy changes he enacted in 2017. Here are some of the main issues of concern for undocumented immigrants, advocates, and firms offering immigration services in San Diego, CA.
Mass Deportations
As a fan of strongman authoritarianism, Trump may declare a federal emergency to authorize the deployment of military units to form a deportation force along with agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Policy analysts from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) think this mass deportation campaign promise could play out in a way that’s similar to what happened during Trump’s first administration. This means agents will look for “low-hanging fruit” opportunities to detain foreigners with immigration violations. This includes overstayed visas, missed appointments with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), late filings, and others. Workplace raids by ICE are the ultimate low-hanging fruit because they often find people with expired Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). One of the most worrisome proposals in Trump’s mass deportation plans would involve removing entire families, including those with children who are American citizens.
Slower Visa Processing Times & More Denials
By the end of Trump’s first year in the White House, the H-1B visa denial rate had jumped from 8 percent to 13 percent, and then it jumped to 24 percent in 2018. By 2020, Trump was ordering temporary suspensions of H-1B visas, which had been backlogged for many months. An analysis by the Pew Research Center at the time revealed a change in work culture at USCIS, the Department of State, and US embassies abroad, where adjudicators had become less efficient and more overzealous since Trump’s highly controversial first election.
Fewer Humanitarian Protections for At-Risk Immigrants
The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) online application for asylum seekers is expected to shut down in 2025. This will be exacerbated by the elimination of certain TPS programs and new restrictions on the number of refugees allowed each fiscal year. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, that number had dropped from 50,000 in 2017 to 18,000. In other words, the U.S. will be a less humanitarian nation if Trump succeeds with these policies. KFF researchers estimate shutting down the CBP One app will prompt thousands of asylum seekers, particularly those in migrant camps across the border in Mexico, to enter the country illegally.
It should be noted that not all Trump’s plans for immigration chaos will be successful. During his first administration, many executive orders weren’t even close to passing judicial review. What’s important for foreigners pursuing visas or those who live in the U.S. is to stay connected with their immigration law firms as the chaos unfolds, because things are expected to change very rapidly.
Immigrants have every reason to be concerned, but they shouldn’t lose hope. Instead, they should retain legal counsel and stay in touch with their San Diego immigration attorneys to learn about the latest developments. If you have additional questions regarding potential changes in immigration law, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with KS Visa Law.
