Immigrants Make America Great: Hope and Optimism as We Welcome Trump 2.0
Photo by Florian Cordillot on Unsplash. Our founder, Angela Torregoza, writes about hope and optimism as we approach Donald Trumps second presidency in this excerpt from her Medium article.
After Donald Trump’s historic win against incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris, I received many inquiries from folks worried about what a second Trump administration might mean in the immigration front. With headlines heralding a doom and gloom scenario for immigrants, it is no wonder that they, their families and advocates are concerned and anxious about what would happen during Donald Trump’s second presidential term.
Immigration policy vs. immigration law
Having worked in the immigration space for over a decade, I have practiced under three different administrations: Obama, Trump, Biden. What’s common under all three is that the issue of immigration is always used to create divisions particularly during an election year. Every administration imposes its own immigration policy that we have to follow. What has not changed is the law.
Immigration law, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), codified in Title 8 of the U.S. Code, was enacted by Congress in 1952. The INA has been amended many times over the years and contains many of the most important provisions of immigration law. The most recent amendment was passed by Congress in 1996, with the enactment of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA), which strengthened U.S. immigration laws, by adding penalties for undocumented immigrants who commit crimes while in the United States or who stay in the U.S. beyond their authorized periods of stay. The Act also allows for the deportation of undocumented immigrants who commit a misdemeanor or a felony.
Why there’s hope and optimism
Since it is highly unlikely that Congress will enact any meaningful immigration reforms, it is expected that this upcoming administration will similarly use EOs to implement its immigration policies. Since we don’t yet know what the specific policies are, we can’t say for sure what will happen during President Trump’s second term. However, with the information that’s out there, in the form of the Republican party platform and historical data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, there are glimmers of hope and optimism for this upcoming second term, Trump 2.0:
Agenda47 mirrors the spirit of the Immigration and Nationality Act.According to the official 2024 Republican Party Platform, Trump will stop illegal immigration by securing the border, utilize the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) resources to enforce and implement immigration laws and end human trafficking. This tracks the language of the INA which added penalties for those who commit crimes and overstay their authorized periods of stay.
Deportation priorities focus on public health and safety. It also contemplates a deportation plan focusing on criminal gang members and those who have violated U.S. laws. According to an April 2024 report by the Office of Homeland Security Statistics, there are over 10 million unauthorized immigrants estimated in 2022. Unauthorized immigrants, in this case, are those who are not legal residents of the U.S., which includes beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), applicants for adjustment of status (green card applicants), as well as others who are paroled into the United States, who are not necessarily deportation priorities. The administration will likely prioritize people with criminal convictions and final removal (deportation) orders, which are around 1.16 million. Finding, detaining and removing just those in that category alone is going to take a lot of resources, something that the agency is short on. Despite the shortage on resources, it is important for immigrant families to keep abreast policies that may affect them in the future.
Prioritizing Merit-based Immigration which puts American Workers First. The plan will focus on attracting and admitting those who will contribute positively to the American society and economy and not become a drain on public resources. This is a welcome change from existing policies, particularly the implementation of an exorbitant fee increase, that impedes the participation of highly skilled workers and those with extraordinary abilities in U.S. economy and society. This policy has pushed out talented U.S. graduates to return to their home countries after earning a degree in this country, without a benefit to American society, which many of them consider their second home, where they have fostered strong ties.
In Trump’s first year (FY 2018), his administration approved more green card applications than the Biden-Harris administration in FY 2023. According to historical data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), under the Trump administration in FY 2018, it granted 1.1 million permanent residence (green cards) applications; 757,000 naturalization applications (U.S. citizenship); and 14 million Contact Center calls received all with a budget of $4.4 billion. Under the current administration, in FY 2023, it granted only 619,720 permanent residence applications; 878,500 naturalization applications; also received 14 million Contact Center calls with a $6.1 billion budget.
The Department of State (DOS) under the Trump administration increasingly granted employment-based visas compared to the Obama administration. The Department of State overseas the visa issuance at the U.S. consulates overseas. According to data from the DOS, consulates increasingly approved employment-based visas under the Trump administration with a dip in issuance in 2020. If we can trust this historical data, then we can hope that the same will hold true in Trump’s second term as President.
Read the complete article on Medium. With over a decade of immigration experience, we have successfully assisted clients in their immigration and business cases. Contact us today to see how we can help you. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Tumblr, for up-to-date immigration news.
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