Trump’s immigration crackdown is backfiring by hurting the U.S.-born workers it was meant to help, data shows

Key Takeaways

• It has been reported that recent enforcement and visa-tightening aimed at protecting U.S.-born workers is producing unintended economic effects.
• Data cited by Fortune indicates employers are hiring fewer workers overall — including U.S.-born employees — after facing greater immigration enforcement and compliance costs.
• Policies and agency actions implicated include tougher visa adjudications, expanded workplace enforcement by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), and wider use of E-Verify (an electronic work-authorization check).
• The human impact: fewer job openings, slower hiring, and more uncertainty for immigrants, employers, and American workers seeking entry-level and complementary roles.
• For people navigating the system: employers may become more risk-averse, lawyers should prepare compliance plans, and applicants should expect continued delays and discretionary denials.

What the data reportedly shows

It has been reported that analyses referenced by Fortune find a counterintuitive result: measures intended to protect domestic workers appear to reduce total hiring, including for U.S.-born employees. Firms facing stricter visa adjudications and heavier penalties for hiring unauthorized workers respond by delaying or cancelling new positions, automating tasks, or consolidating roles — actions that can shrink the overall job market. Those trends are especially visible in sectors that rely on mixed workforces of native-born and immigrant employees, such as tech, construction, and hospitality.

Policy background and legal mechanisms

The tightening has taken multiple forms. USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) has adopted more rigorous review standards in recent years; ICE has stepped up workplace audits and I-9 enforcement; and some employers are expanding use of E-Verify, the federal electronic system that checks employment authorization. Many of these moves increase administrative burden and legal risk for employers. While enforcement is intended to deter illegal hiring, economists and labor analysts say it also raises the cost and uncertainty of hiring any new worker — foreign or domestic.

Human impact and what it means now

For immigrants and visa applicants, the environment is more uncertain: longer adjudication times, more Requests for Evidence (RFEs), and a higher chance of discretionary denials can leave people in limbo. For U.S.-born workers, the fallout can mean fewer entry-level openings and slower career ladders where immigrant hires previously complemented domestic workers. Employers will likely continue to be risk-averse: legal counsel should advise on I-9 compliance, use of E-Verify where required, and careful documentation for visa petitioning. Job-seekers — both immigrant and native-born — should expect continued instability in affected industries in the near term.

Source: Original Article