Study finds Trump administration cut legal immigration far more than illegal crossings, PBS reports

Key Takeaways

• It has been reported that a new study found legal immigration declined substantially during the Trump administration — more so than changes in unauthorized border crossings.
• The declines affected visa issuances, green-card admissions and refugee entries, reducing lawful pathways into the United States.
• Policies cited include pandemic-era entry suspensions, travel bans, and tightened vetting; the study links these measures to the drop in legal admissions.
• The finding underscores broader human impacts: longer backlogs, constrained family reunification and fewer work-authorized pathways for immigrants.

What the study found

It has been reported that the study concludes legal immigration fell sharply under the Trump administration and that the magnitude of that reduction exceeded shifts in illegal border crossings. The research looked across multiple channels of admission — including immigrant visas (green cards), nonimmigrant visas for work and study, and refugee admissions — and found a marked contraction in lawful entries. The authors argue that administrative actions and policy changes played a primary role in that decline.

How policy produced the change

Observers point to several policy levers used during the period: presidential proclamations and agency directives limiting entry during the pandemic; broader travel bans and restrictions on particular categories of visas; increased vetting and rule changes at agencies such as USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) and CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection). It has been reported that these measures, combined with the global decline in international travel during COVID-19, contributed to far fewer legal admissions than would otherwise have occurred.

Human impact and what it means now

For migrants and families, the practical effects were immediate and uneven: longer waits for family- and employment-based visas, reduced refugee resettlement opportunities, and tighter pathways for students and temporary workers. For lawyers and caseworkers, the period created backlogs and uncertainty that persist today in USCIS processing times and consular visa scheduling. For someone navigating the system now, the main takeaway is that some of those backlogs and policy legacies can still affect case timing and strategy, even as administrations change course.

Source: Original Article