Trump’s immigration crackdown is backfiring by hurting the U.S.-born workers it was meant to help, data shows
Key Takeaways
- Fortune reports new data indicate Trump-era restrictions reduced hiring and investment in the U.S., undercutting job prospects for U.S.-born workers.
- Policies targeted high-skilled (H-1B, L-1) and seasonal (H-2B, J-1) visas, with spikes in denials and Requests for Evidence (RFEs) at USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services).
- Employers allegedly offshored work, automated tasks, or canceled projects when visas were constrained, blunting expected gains for native workers.
- Many Trump-era measures have since been rolled back, but processing times, higher fees, and policy uncertainty continue to shape decisions by workers and companies.
What the data suggest
It has been reported that the Trump administration’s effort to “protect American jobs” by curbing immigration instead dampened domestic hiring and investment, according to analysis highlighted by Fortune. The data-driven takeaway: tightening the inflow of both high-skilled and seasonal foreign workers constrained labor supply in key sectors, and employers often responded by moving work abroad, delaying projects, or reducing growth plans—outcomes that can reduce opportunities for U.S.-born workers rather than raise them. Denial and Request for Evidence (RFE) rates for H-1B petitions spiked in fiscal years 2018–2020, according to federal statistics compiled by independent researchers, amplifying uncertainty and compliance costs.
The policies at issue
The crackdown included the “Buy American and Hire American” directive to raise scrutiny of employment-based visas; heightened adjudication standards at USCIS; travel and entry bans; and Proclamation 10052 (2020), which suspended the entry of certain H-1B, H-2B, L-1, and J-1 applicants. There were also attempts to overhaul prevailing wage rules at the Department of Labor (DOL) and to expand “public charge” inadmissibility standards, the latter of which created a chilling effect before being rescinded. Combined with pandemic-era consular closures, these measures curtailed visa issuance and complicated corporate workforce planning.
Who was affected—and how
Sectors that rely on specialty skills—technology, engineering, health care—and seasonal labor in hospitality, landscaping, and seafood processing reported acute gaps. Fortune notes that firms allegedly responded by offshoring or automating roles when they could not secure visas, especially for H-1B and L-1 workers who anchor product development and client delivery. Research has long found that high-skilled immigration boosts innovation, patents, and downstream hiring; when that pipeline narrows, smaller firms and regional economies can be hit hardest, with fewer ancillary jobs for U.S.-born workers.
What it means if you’re navigating the system now
Many Trump-era restrictions have been rolled back: the 2019 public charge rule was replaced, H-1B adjudication standards loosened, and entry suspensions lifted. Still, applicants face long processing times, and substantial fee increases took effect in 2024. USCIS has also modernized the H-1B lottery to be beneficiary-centric and added anti-fraud steps, which can change filing strategies. For employers, early workforce planning—and exploring alternatives like TN (for Canadians and Mexicans), E-3 (for Australians), or O-1 (extraordinary ability)—remains essential. For policy watchers and U.S.-born workers, the reported evidence suggests that broad visa cuts may not deliver better job outcomes and can push work offshore instead; future shifts in DHS/USCIS policy or litigation could quickly alter the calculus again.
Source: Original Article