The US closed the door on almost all incoming foreign workers last year. The causes were Covid-19 restrictions that locked global borders and Trump’s policies that drastically reduced work visas, with the exception of agricultural workers. The effect was an unexpected experiment in one of the country’s most discussed issues: the relationship between the labor market and immigration.
The preliminary finding: Even with the skyrocketing unemployment rate in the U.S., companies that depended on foreign workers and could stay open during the pandemic struggled to fill jobs, employers said.
According to Alex Nowrasteh, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute.
In April, when the pandemic started, the Trump administration temporarily banned potential green card holders from moving to the US for jobs and permanent residence. In June, Mr. Trump extended the ban to most temporary work visas, except for agricultural workers, citing health risks and rising US unemployment. President Biden has not announced his plans for the work visa ban, which will run through March.
These visa programs are a small part of the overall immigration picture – they do not include the wider migration to the US of people for reasons such as fleeing violence or poverty, or joining family members. The work visa programs are aimed at specific, even niche, categories; they include temporary visas for nannies and foreign students who work as lifeguards, and long-term visas for highly skilled tech workers and foreigners starting their own businesses here.