What Trump’s Immigration Agenda Means for Employers

Do you and your team have a plan in place if ICE shows up at your office looking for one of your employees? It’s a shocking thought, but something that HR must now consider in our new normal.The new Trump Administration 2.0 is moving aggressively on new immigration policies, including significant changes to the immigration process. Yet we have plenty of experience from his first term to help guide us toward adapting to the new era.During a recent From Day One webinar, attorneys Matthew Hellrung and Matthew Meltzer, co-Founders and managing partners of Meltzer Hellrung Immigration Solutions, discussed what they see as the most likely immediate adjustments, as well as later developments, and the steps you can take now to ensure compliance and minimize disruptions to your immigration program moving forward.They offered an insightful and practical guide to how employers can adapt and anticipate the myriad changes to U.S. immigration policy to ensure access to a global talent pool.The State of ImmigrationPrior to the start of the new Trump administration, U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS), had a 4% denial rate, U.S. Department of State (DOS) had a 20% denial rate, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was largely focused on arresting undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions or pending charges.“I-9 enforcement was focusing on employers that didn’t use E-Verify and employers that were suspected to have people who might not have work authorization, businesses that have historically unauthorized workers, like car washes, factories, or slaughterhouses,” Meltzer said.Actions Affecting Lawful Immigration PathwaysUnder the new administration, lawful entry into the U.S. has become even more difficult. Refugee entry, including pending applications, has been suspended indefinitely pending a 90-day review and report, stranding 22,000 previously approved refugees. And there is a directive heightening the already very high identification standards such that current unsettled approvals may be denied. This is a particular challenge for those coming from countries that don’t have as rigorous and standardized an ID system as the U.S., Hellrung says. Matthew Hellrung (pictured), led the webinar along with Matthew Meltzer (company photo)Asylum seekers, those who arrive at the U.S. border claiming a credible fear of persecution in their home country, unlike refugees who wait in their home country for approval, are also facing challenges. “Via the Constitution and the various immigration laws, CBP is required to accept those individuals to document who they are, to potentially interview them for their asylum claims, and then release them into the United States with a court date to plead their case for the asylum benefit that they’ve applied for at the border. As soon as Trump took office, essentially all asylum applications that were in process were halted,” Hellrung said. Reports indicate CBP no longer honors asylum claims at any U.S. Border, and the “CBP one app” asylum interview system was terminated a few days into the new administration, canceling 30,000 appointments. Humanitarian programs and parole, which are generally granted by executive order, are no longer available for Cuban, Haitian, Ukrainian, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan nationals seeking entry. Trump also ended Biden’s green card program reuniting families separated from children (enacted in response to the first Trump administration), and ICE is now allowed to invalidate anyone’s parole immediately.  Temporary Protected Status (TPS) has been partially rescinded for over 800,000 people. “[TPS] is temporary permission that allows folks coming from war torn countries, famine, and natural disasters to enter the United States for temporary period of time,” Hellrung said. “There are a lot of folks employed as Venezuelans [and Ukrainians] in TPS status. They do have the authorization to work. They pass the I-9 process.” He says the administration is likely to rescind most or all TPS designations in the next 18 months, impacting 14 nationalities. DOS has also made it harder for visas to be renewed abroad via Dropbox. And some moves have happened as political retaliation, such as the canceling of hundreds of Colombian visas after the country complained about deportees, and the looming threat of canceling F-1 student visas for supposed Hamas sympathizers, often conflated with those simply supporting Palestinian rights.  Hellrung says some of the more extreme measures may not come to pass, including the executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship. “It’s pretty clear in the Constitution that birthright citizenship is a right. We don’t think this is going anywhere.” But he warns to expect continued ICE harassment and arrests of green card holders and U.S. citizens as the officers work to meet their arrest quotas. Actions Affecting Undocumented ImmigrantsWhile most employers are less concerned about the actions affecting those who are in the U.S. illegally, “it can still have a significant impact if you are a supermarket or a place where people congregate publicly–a food bank, a health clinic.” Even if your employees are here legally, your clientele may not be, and ICE will often make their arrests at public gathering spots for easy access. ICE noncriminal arrests have increased tenfold, and ICE is now empowered to remove someone from the country immediately without due process.Meltzer advises employers to stay prepared regardless of their direct workforce or customer base. “I always remind all of my clients that you don’t know who your employees’ families are,” he said. “You can have people who work for you who are U.S. citizens, who are married to undocumented workers. You can have people who are U.S. citizens who are the children of undocumented people. The stress here is real for workforces, regardless of whether they’re not undocumented.”One of the biggest changes is that DOS has been ordered to create a registration process for all non-U.S. citizens and failure to register would be a criminal offense. Meltzer notes that this law has actually been on the books since the 1940’s but was never truly implemented until now. Immigration enforcement is taking top priority, as workers from other agencies like the IRS, DEA, FBI, and Homeland Security are being taken off of other criminal enforcement to focus on immigration instead. Most of these provisions against undocumented immigrants, Hellrung says, have lawsuits against them pending in the federal courts. What to Expect NextGoing forward, Hellrung warns employers to expect travel bans in over a dozen countries, while others will be expected to improve their security and information sharing so their citizens can still be allowed to travel to the U.S. plus delayed consular processing for visas. Employers may be impacted by increased barriers to immigration benefits, including higher income requirements for permanent residency and an increase in filing fees for humanitarian, family, and employment-based visas. There may also be termination of work authorizations for asylum applicants, parolees, and H-4, L-2, E-3D, and J-2 dependent authorizations.“You should know who these people are inside of your workforce and identify them because they are at risk of losing work authorization,” Hellrung said. “It would be a good idea to sponsor that person in the [visa] lottery if they qualify.” Plus, there may be termination of TPS designations and all humanitarian parole, affecting about 1.5 to 2 million immigrants in the U.S. with work authorizations. And a rise in inquiries, audits, and denials across all family and employment-based filings. Trump has mentioned a substantive change in the H-1B lottery system, making it more merit-based, but what that means exactly has yet to be determined. Currently, Hellrung’s clients are already experiencing increased site visits from USCIS and ICE, auditing I-9s, checking on H-1B and L-1 workers, or doing worksite raids for specific individuals. They also anticipate increased immigration coordination and enforcement by federal, state, and local law enforcement, since the “mass influx” designation allows the deputization of state and local agents. How to Stay PreparedIn the face of this daunting information, there are a few concrete ways Meltzer and Hellrung suggest employers can stay prepared: Centralize your company’s I-9 and immigration data. Adopt a system that allows for safe storage and quick reporting and adopt E-Verify or E-Verify+ if appropriate. Review your I-9 completion, storage, and audit procedures. A spot audit might be useful to understand your overall financial risk.File everything you can file now! This includes work authorization extensions, before the possible expiration. Initiate green card cases as long-term solutions and ask vendors to prioritize the fastest options, including EB-1, EB-2 NIW, and EB-2EA. And sponsor workers for the H-1B lottery if you can. Create a site visit protocol plan. Who will receive a government agent? Where will you put them? Do you know your employer rights? The latter, the ICE site visit, is the most daunting for many employers. Gather as much information as possible, including names, agencies, and badges. Know which parts of your business are considered public and which are considered private, which impacts whether a warrant is needed. Be ready to supply paperwork when asked. Meltzer advises to keep your cool “and don’t assume the government is going to do everything right.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Meltzer Hellrung , for sponsoring this webinar. Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.(Photo by AnnaStills/iStock)