The surprise winners of Trump's immigration wars
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If you're an immigrant worker in the U.S. right now, you've got a better shot landing a visa as a farmer than a tech worker, researcher, doctor or nurse.
Why it matters: The Trump administration's crackdown on H-1B visas is crushing sectors that rely on high-skilled immigrant workers, while seasonal programs for farm workers have gotten a pass.
- "There was all of this hype that Trump would be friendly toward high-skilled immigration and harder on low-skilled immigration," said Sam Peak, an immigration expert at the Economic Innovation Group.
- The opposite has been true, including an admission from the administration that seasonal farm labor jobs can't be filled with Americans.
The big picture: Huge new fees ($100k a pop for H-1B visas) are combining with higher salary rules to make importing high-skilled workers less attractive for American employers.
- At the same time, the administration is lowering the wage requirements for farm workers and helping streamline their visas.
- "The $100,000 H-1B fee sends a clear message: we must prioritize hiring American talent before hiring foreign labor," USCIS Spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser told Axios in a statement.
Zoom in: Most H-1B visas go to IT work and Big Tech companies, a perennial villain for the MAGA populists. But smaller businesses, research institutes (like universities or teaching hospitals), nonprofits and hospitals are bearing the brunt of the visa fee change.
- Rural hospitals are some of the hardest hit outside of tech work by the new fee.
- "The issue right now for rural patients isn't: do I want a foreign nurse or do I want an American nurse? The issue is: do I want foreigners or is my facility going to slow down patient care?" said immigration attorney Chris Musillo.
- Trump allies in Texas and Florida are trying to implement state government freezes on sponsoring H-1B visas, which will inevitably impact public universities and medical centers.
By the numbers: Just 85 applicants have paid the $100,000 visa fee as of Feb. 15, according to an agency declaration in a lawsuit.
- In fiscal year 2024, more than 65,000 approved H-1B recipients would have been subject to the fee.
- Additionally, the Department of Labor is preparing to implement a new salary formula that increases the labor costs for H-1B visa workers.
- "The previous methodology implicitly allowed employers to hire experienced foreign workers and pay them as an entry-level U.S. worker. It created perverse incentives to avoid hiring entry-level U.S. workers," a DOL spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Between the lines: Farmers struggling to fill their ranks are finding relief from the Trump administration.
- DOL has cut the hourly rates for these seasonal workers — ranging from $1 to $3 an hour decreases depending on the state — and created a new "one-stop shop" to streamline these visas.
- "The farming community has fairly deep roots in the GOP," Peak said. "I really think it comes down to farmers being in a lot of red districts and having close ties with the administration and members of Congress."
The bottom line: These changes enraged the United Farm Workers, a union that's long struggled against migrant labor undercutting its members. The UFW is suing the Trump administration over the changes.
- "There is nothing "America First" about expanding exploitative guest worker programs that undercut and displace American workers," Teresa Romero, UFW president, said in a statement on the lawsuit, adding that the changes allow "big agricultural corporations to exploit cheap foreign labor."
