The Trump administration placed stricter immigration rules, which led to a shortage of workers in the US labor force. The effects of the pandemic also contributed to this shortage. However, in recent times, the labor force has enjoyed favorable manpower due to favorable immigration policies adopted by the Biden administration.
How the Dip in Immigration Started
The Trump administration capped the number of refugees the US can take in at 15,000 as of 2020. The administration also refused access to immigrants from Islamic countries. This court overturned this policy, but its existence deterred immigrants from Islamic countries from coming to the US.
Another way the number of immigrants went to an all-time low was the slow process of getting a US visa. It takes a long time to schedule an interview with the US consular. After the pandemic, the shortage of staff in the US immigration services meant that the visa process was slower than before.
How the Biden Administration is Achieving the Rise in Manpower
In recent years, the Biden administration has embarked on two immigration policies that have seen the US workforce jump in scale. First, visa processing times have been reduced. Second, adopting the humanitarian parole policy, which sees the US take in war refugees, has contributed greatly. These two policies have particularly bolstered the number of immigrants.
Before this, there was a concern that inflation could possibly skyrocket due to a shortage of workers and the payment of higher wages. However, with the immigration policies, these concerns have been reduced. The administration also addressed the problem of a staff shortage in US immigration services and reversed policies of the previous administration that slowed down the visa process.
Another way is the granting of humanitarian parole and temporary protected status to war-torn countries like Ukraine and Afghanistan.
While some may worry that the rise in immigrants can lead to a lack of jobs for citizens, the data shows otherwise. The statistics show that, with the immigration policies, the new migrants have claimed about 517,000 jobs, and there is still a demand for more manpower to claim more available jobs.
“Immigration policies have a direct impact on the U.S. labor force. The Biden administration’s changes have addressed worker shortages and improved visa processing times, but challenges like slow bureaucratic processes and limited legal pathways remain,” said immigration law attorney Zaira Solano from the Solano Law Firm.
The Result of Biden Administration’s Efforts
The data shows an increase in the number of people who applied for the status of visitor, temporary worker, and permanent worker. However, although the number increased, it didn’t match that of Trump’s administration.
Improvements were also made in other areas. Due to the latest policies, the US recorded more new citizens. Also, the refugee cap increased to 125,000 from the previous administration’s 15,000. However, this cap did not translate to faster processing of refugee status, as immigration services could only accommodate 25,000 refugees.
Other growth includes net immigration, the foreign-born workforce, and the number of immigrants with work permits. The leisure, hospitality, and construction industries have been the large beneficiaries of the growth in the foreign-born workforce, as they employ more immigrants than other industries.
The Problem of Illegal Immigration
Although the US immigration laws are friendlier to legal migrants, the number of legal migrants is still low compared to illegal immigrants. In fact, the data shows that only one-fifth of migrants filling the labor force are legally in the US to work.
Also, although the Biden administration is open to immigrants, the number of legal migrants is still low compared to that of the Trump administration. One reason for this is the slow bureaucratic process involved in obtaining legal migration status. Perhaps it is a political gimmick to look different from the past administration while subtly aiming at similar immigration outcomes.
In many cases, people have yet to have their interviews with the US consular, tons of asylum cases have yet to be attended to, and the process of getting a work permit can last for years.
Interestingly, the few pathways immigrants can work legally are either temporary or under review in courts to be terminated. The first pathway is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, which the Trump administration terminated, but immigrants have taken the case to court to challenge the decision. The other route is to receive a temporary work permit, usually granted to asylum seekers whose countries are at war.
What Experts Say about the Immigration Situation
The Chief Economist at Apollo Global Management pointed out that although one would normally expect that the lower the unemployment rate, the higher the wages, the situation in the US does not follow that curve. According to him, jobs are available for immigrants moving in to claim.
According to Al Flores, the general counsel of Tex-Mex restaurants, there is still a growing need for labor. To him, the pandemic contributed to the loss of workers in industries such as the food industry and the construction industry.
Flores remarked that although the new immigration policies of the Biden Administration have improved the workforce in the labor force, it still isn’t enough to jack up the number of legal migrants with permanent work permit status. Flores feared this might discourage legal migrants from the US and seek countries that are more lenient in granting legal immigration status.
Other advocate groups have suggested that immigration can be improved by creating better opportunities for non-agricultural workers who do not hold college degrees. They suggest that the government create a new visa category for such people that will create a path to achieving citizenship status.
Although the labor force is growing, the agricultural sector suffers from workforce shortages. Many people seem to be uninterested in the sector, and this poses a huge threat to the economy and the country as a whole.
Lastly, Todd Schulte, the chief executive of a pro-immigration group, opined that it may take time to reach where the US wants to be in her immigration status because the previous administration sabotaged immigration laws, which set them back and resulted in a failed system.
Media Information:
Solano Law Firm
1910 S Stapley Dr
#221 Mesa AZ , 85204
(147) 0624 6476
