You would be surprised at the amount of people calling our law firm lately because they are concerned about their immigration status as a result of the 2024 presidential election.

This is because following his reelection in 2024, President-elect Donald Trump has revived his focus on United States immigration law, continuing the hardline immigration policies that characterized his first presidential term while introducing new immigration policies aimed at reshaping the immigration landscape in the United States. 

In fact, President-elect Donald Trump made immigration a central focus of his 2024 presidential campaign, but unlike his first run— which was spent largely focused on building a border wall between Mexico and the United States — he has now turned his focus to the interior enforcement and removal of undocumented foreign national citizens (i.e., immigrants or migrants) who already reside in the United States and to the restructuring of various visa programs for foreign national citizens who want to come to the United States.

President-elect Trump vows to take stringent action to restrict both lawful and unlawful immigration into the United States. Because of this, I, along with all other immigration attorneys, are bracing for a slew of new immigration policies under the upcoming Trump administration that will undoubtedly make life more difficult for foreign national citizens who already reside in the United States and those who want to come to the United States, both legally and illegally.

Several of the most pronounced new immigration policies under Trump’s second presidential term focus on heightened border enforcement and reformation of various visa programs, which include:

(1) President-elect Trump has proposed reforms to the H-1B visa program to prioritize American workers, which include stricter eligibility requirements for employers seeking to sponsor foreign talent and increased fees for H-1B visa applications.

(2) President-elect Trump has reaffirmed his commitment to reducing family-based immigration, emphasizing a shift towards “merit-based” systems. This includes limiting the number of family preference visas issued each year.

(3) President-elect Trump has indicated that his administration plans to introduce stringent vetting processes for visa applicants, with the stated aim of enhancing national security. This will lead to longer processing times and increased scrutiny of visa applicants' backgrounds. This means that visa applicants – and the U.S. companies that employ them – can expect extremely long wait times for visa interview appointments, more frequent administrative processing delays, and much higher visa refusal rates. Moreover, foreign workers may be less able to travel internationally for work due to the risk of being unable to return to the U.S.

(4) President-elect Trump has indicated that his administration plans to carry out mass detentions and deportations of millions of immigrants, including long-term residents, which could lead to family separations and negative mental and physical health consequences. President-elect Trump has stated that he will declare a “national emergency" and, thus, use the U.S. military to carry out the mass deportations of tens of millions of undocumented immigrants residing in the United States, many of whom have been living and working in the country for decades.

(5) President-elect Trump has indicated plans to eliminate the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program” (i.e., “DACA”) which would lead to over half a million DACA recipients losing their “protected status” in the United States and being at risk of deportation. DACA was originally established in June 2012 by President Barack Obama via executive action in an effort to protect certain undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children from removal proceedings (i.e., deportation proceedings) and receive authorization to legally work for renewable 2-year periods. 

(6) President-elect Trump has indicated that he will sign an executive order to end “birthright citizenship” for the children of some immigrants, despite it being a guaranteed right under the United States Constitution.  This proposed action would limit access to health coverage and care for the children of immigrants since they may not have lawful immigration status, and could also have broader ramifications for the nation’s workforce and economy, potentially exacerbating existing worker shortages, including in health care. 

These new immigration policies reflect the Trump administration’s continued commitment to adopt strict immigration policies that are focused on heightened border enforcement and reforming various visa programs. 

While these new immigration policies aim to protect American workers and national security, they also provoke discussion and debate about the future of U.S. immigration. 

If you have any specific questions regarding your immigration status and how the Trump administration can affect it, I highly recommend that you contact an experienced U.S. immigration attorney as soon as possible.

By Ekaterina Huff, Esq.