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WHITE HOUSE

Trump gambles on immigrant workers during coronavirus

The president has angered his base by soliciting temporary foreign workers in an effort to stabilize the
economy.

President Donald Trump faces immense pressure to prop up the economy — both during and after the

coronavirus outbreak. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo

By A N I TA KUMAR

04/02/2020 08:32 PM EDT

The Trump administration is still soliciting immigrants for specific jobs despite
droves of Americans filing for unemployment.

It is urging medical professionals to contact a U.S. embassy to move their

application process along, cognizant of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping
America.
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It is easing requirements for immigrants to get jobs as farm workers,

landscapers and crab pickers, aware that industries, including those that fill
grocery store shelves, could be hurt if they couldn’t hire foreign employees.

And until facing criticism this week, it had been moving ahead with a 35,000-
person increase in the number of seasonal workers in part for expected job
openings at resorts and golf courses after the pandemic releases its grip on the
economy.

Activists are irate that Trump hasn’t backed down more. But business leaders
say it’s needed to stabilize a cratering economy.

Indeed, Trump faces immense pressure to prop up the economy — both during
and after the coronavirus outbreak. And he’s adopting an approach the
business community has long pushed: Recruit workers for perennially empty
jobs, even if they’re not American workers. Business leaders say that even
during the coronavirus crisis, foreign workers are critical to companies that
might be unable to find enough unemployed Americans willing to take certain
jobs, especially if those people can collect more money via jobless benefits.

“There’s still a need for these types of workers,” said one business industry
representative in touch with the administration.

But the move poses political risks for the president, with hard-line immigration
activists baffled that Trump would choose a moment of financial peril — with
unemployment skyrocketing and a reelection campaign around the corner — to
turn to foreign workers.

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“It’s reprehensible,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for
Immigration Studies, which advocates more immigration restrictions.
“Specifically importing workers into jobs unemployed Americans would be
doing is absurd.”

A Department of Homeland Security official said the administration’s moves

were surprising given the “soaring unemployment rate.” A record-shattering
6.6 million people filed for their first unemployment benefits last week, as
scores of industries have fully shuttered during the pandemic.

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In response to pressure from opponents, the Trump administration did
backtrack on some of its plans, pausing the approval of 35,000 more seasonal
worker visas, pending further review. But the other moves remain in place for
now.

Trump made cracking down on immigration the centerpiece of his 2016

campaign, promising to build a wall on the southern border with Mexico and
deport millions of migrants who arrived in the country illegally. In his
inaugural address, he promised to rebuild the country with American labor.
“We will follow two simple rules: buy American and hire American,” he said.

Since the pandemic began, the administration has restricted foreign visitors
from China, Europe, Canada and Mexico, and postponed hearings for
immigrants wanting to remain in the U.S. More broadly, it paused visa
processing for those that aren’t being granted exemptions.

But it has also begun easing the process for companies looking to hire foreign
workers, altering some paperwork requirements, including allowing electronic
signatures and waiving the physical inspection of documents.

The administration even talked about boosting the number of visas offered to
wealthy immigrants who invest money in the U.S., though interest in that has
cooled on Capitol Hill, according to the business leader.

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Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo

DHS is expected to extend visas that are expiring but can’t be renewed because
federal offices are closed, according to the business group representative.
Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf confirmed this week that he is considering
that, among other changes.

“We're looking at a … variety of different options that I think we will have soon,
and it will be very beneficial,” he said.

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The White House and DHS did not respond to requests for comment.

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Trump touted the importance of agricultural visas on Wednesday in response
to a question at a news conference at the White House.

“We want them to come in,” he said. “We're not closing the border so that we
can’t get any of those people to come in. They've been there for years and years,
and I've given the commitment to the farmers: They're going to continue to
come. Or we're not going to have any farmers.”

NumbersUSA, which supports immigration restrictions, has been railing

against the changes for days on social media and in alerts to supporters,
specifically calling out Wolf, who once lobbied for an association that wanted to
keep a visa program for foreign workers.

“@DHS_Wolf is going to admit tens of thousands of foreign guest workers in

the coming month to satisfy the corporate lobby,” it posted on Twitter this
week. “These guest workers will be dispersed across the entire U.S. putting
Americans out of work and hampering efforts to control the coronavirus.”

The business community, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, had been
pushing for temporary slots for immigrants coming to the U.S., saying
companies were struggling to fill jobs as unemployment has fallen. It continued
lobbying even after the coronavirus, according to the business industry
representatives.

“Many immigrant workers are currently helping our nation fight the spread of
Covid-19,” said Jon Baselice, the chamber’s executive director of immigration
policy, citing medical professionals, scientists and agricultural workers. “Their
contributions to our national well-being are critically important to our safety
and security until we flatten the curve on this pandemic.”

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Immigrant advocates have joined in the call for not restricting foreign labor
during the current pandemic.

“It’s never been more clear that the American economy depends on immigrants
and immigration,” said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National
Immigration Forum, an immigrant advocacy group. “This is a community that
is currently contributing on the front lines and is also able to come in and meet
gaps in the labor force.”

Immigrant advocates have cautioned that being on the front line during
coronavirus puts these foreign laborers in harm’s way. The issue made
headlines after a video surfaced of farm workers laboring close to each other
without proper protective gear. María Teresa Kumar, president and CEO of the
Latino political organization Voto Latino, said immigrants who don’t speak
English well might not understand confusing guidelines about how to protect
themselves against the virus.

Despite Trump’s campaign vow to reduce immigration, the number of

immigrants with temporary visas has steadily increased during his presidency,
reaching 925,000 in 2018, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

While there is no cap for the total number of temporary workers, there are
annual limits on several of the dozen-plus visa categories. More than 1 million
immigrants are allowed into the United States each year on a permanent basis,
but only a fraction — 140,000 — come through employment categories.

Companies also request many more foreign worker visas than are approved.
On Thursday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that
companies initially were requesting 275,000 visas in fiscal 2021 for skilled
workers in specialty occupations. Those visas, dubbed H-1B, are capped at
85,000 annually.

The Trump administration has also worked to prioritize visa processing for
medical workers, given America’s resource-strained health system.

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Last Thursday, the State Department encouraged medical professionals

seeking a work or exchange visitor visa to contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or
Consulate for a visa appointment. Hours later, after some criticism, the
department clarified that the person must already have an approved visa
petition.

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The State Department later announced it would also waive interviews for some
temporary worker visas, saying the program is “essential to the economy and
food security of the United States and is a national security priority.”

The prioritization for some workers comes amid a broader suspension of visa
services at embassies and consulates around the world. But the Trump
administration created a carveout after a push by members of Congress and
agriculture groups, who already had been coping with a worker shortage and
the fallout from Trump’s trade wars.

Separately, DHS had announced before the pandemic that it planned to allow
an additional 35,000 workers into the country on non-agricultural seasonal

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 worker visas as it tried “to strike a careful balance that benefits American
businesses and American workers."

The visas, dubbed H-2B, have been regularly used for workers in the
landscaping, housekeeping and construction industries, and had been capped
at 66,000. DHS has added additional visas in that category for the past three
years.

The administration discussed reversing the decision, according to two people

familiar with the situation, but moved forward last week with the plan.
Employers expected to be able to hire workers within weeks, according to the
business industry representative.

But after criticism, DHS reversed course yet again. “DHS’s rule on the H-2B
cap is on hold pending review due to present economic circumstances,” the
department tweeted.

FILED UNDER: IMMIGRATION, DHS, UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS,

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