With the national debate on immigration centering on the separation of immigrant families at the border in a bid to discourage illegal immigration, the Trump administration has made inroads into one of its other major priorities – the reduction of legal immigration to the US.
There is expected to be a 12% drop in the number of immigrants who receive US visas for a permanent move to the country in the first two years of Donald Trump’s Presidency, an analysis of data from the State Department by the Washington Post has revealed. Muslim majority nations, which are on Trump’s travel ban list, such as Yemen, Iran, Somalia, Syria, and Libya, are some of the most affected, and the number of newcomers to the US is set to fall by as much as 81% by 30 September, the close of the second fiscal year under the Trump administration.
The travel ban was upheld by the Supreme Court last week, and legal immigration from all such countries now seems set to be reduced by as much as a third. The Trump administration claims that the immigration policies they pursue are designed to preserve American jobs and protect national security.
One White House official has said that the US has seen record immigration levels in recent years with no consideration for the effect such an influx has on American employees or their wages. Some critics contend that the travel ban discriminates against certain nationalities.
