Immigration policies during the pandemic

Trump’s administration has always been tirelessly focused on reducing immigration, both legal and illegal.

The president assures that mass immigration is a disadvantage for the US, argumenting that foreigners “tend to use public benefits” but do not give anything in return.

After the arrival of the Coronavirus in the country, the President decided to temporarily change some of the legal entry and residence permits.

Thus, immigration policies are currently stricter; Let’s see some examples:

• There are no asylum or refuge permits in the country. This is a temporary measure.
• No immigrant can currently cross the borders.
• The residence permit renewal processes are longer now.
• The waiting time for a hearing is longer now due to the suspension of face-to-face assistance from the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).

However, despite the beliefs of the current government, the figures from multiple studies show the positive impact of immigration in the US.

The benefits of immigration

Since President Trump took office in 2017, experts from all areas of immigration have made comparisons that show the impact of immigration in the US.

It is imperative to recognize that Barack Obama’s government was very different from President Trump’s government regarding immigration concerns.

Thus, the conclusions of the studies conducted in recent years are based on comparisons between these two governments and on immigration history in general.

Some of the most powerful conclusions are:

1. There are no more Native Americans

The only truly Native Americans are the ancestral tribes and cultures that have almost completely disappeared. The rest of the American population comes from very old immigrant communities who created generations that we now call natives, but were originally foreigners as well.

Basically, the US is primarily made up mostly of immigrant population.

2. The economic impact of immigration

Several studies done in recent years show the great economic benefit of immigration in the US.

• In 2018, an economic study showed that immigrants contributed approximately $ 328 billion in taxes. They paid more than a quarter of the taxes for California, New Jersey and New York during that year.
• The immigrant community is known for its entrepreneurial spirit. They constantly create micro-businesses that help boost the economy and offer new job opportunities for millions of citizens.
  For instance, in 2011 immigrants created 28% of the country’s new businesses.
• Thousands of local companies benefit from the work of immigrants. Their performance is always highlighted as one of the best.

3. The workforce in the US is made up mostly of immigrants

Immigrants are normally the country’s workforce. They work in different areas like construction, infrastructure, production, manufacturing, inter alia.

On top of that, thousands of foreign farm workers come to the US annually to plant and grow food that local markets continually use. They are the ones who work the land for our population.

4. Citizens born in “mixed families” are now the Native Americans

Millions of children are born annually in the US. They might come from “mixed families,” consisting of a citizen parent and an immigrant parent or both immigrants.

This means that the majority of Native Americans are from immigrant cultures that came to the country recently or several generations ago.

5. Native citizens use more public benefits than immigrants

An official report states that in 2012 only 29% of immigrants used food stamps. However, 32.5% of people who used public benefits were native citizens.

This figure can help us understand that the problem might not be immigration.

The repercussions of reducing immigration

The government wants to reduce immigration at all costs, but the US needs immigrants to successfully overcome the current situation.

Let’s look at some possible repercussions if the government reduces immigration:

• When the COVID-19 contagion peak decreases in the North American territory, we are going to have a devastating economic crisis (that we are starting to see now). The country needs the immigrant workforce to drive socio-economic growth during this juncture.
• Thousands of foreign health workers are on the front line in the battle against the Coronavirus. They must remain in the country in order to counter the impact of the pandemic.
• The birth rate has decreased considerably in the US in recent years and this could be an irreversible impact on the country’s economy. Therefore, the immigrant community is very necessary to continue the current production required by the different local markets.
• Imports and exports have reduced due to the pandemic as well. Therefore, we need more agricultural workers to have local food and supply the country’s markets.

It is a watershed moment for the US, and immigration could be a primary and essential key to overcome the health crisis caused by the Coronavirus.

We are happy to help you with your immigration process!

If you have any questions about an immigration issue or relating to a case you may have currently in progress, then please don’t hesitate to contact us for a FREE Phone Consultation with one of our expert immigration attorneys.

Simply call Motion Law today at: (202) 918-1799.