The Trump administration’s immigration policy shifts have been a cornerstone of the president’s first 14 months back in office—and they are creating new talent obstacles for many employers.
According to recent research from employment law firm Littler, three-quarters of large organizations report workforce staffing challenges related to Trump’s immigration policy shifts. This includes 39% that report a small impact, 19% that say the policies have had a moderate effect and 5% that report a significant influence. Overall, 63% of organizations across all sizes are facing new staffing challenges stemming from the Trump immigration policies.
The administration’s most impactful immigration policy shifts run the gamut, said Jorge Lopez, chair of Littler’s Immigration and Global Mobility Practice Group, during a recent firm webinar. For instance, the new asylum rule extends the waiting period for an Employment Authorization Document from 180 to 365 days, a move that Lopez said essentially “eliminates” the work authorization avenue for asylum.
“Part of the rationale,” Lopez said, “is that the administration is focusing on trying to eliminate frivolous applications under the asylum process.”
The administration is also significantly scaling back Temporary Protected Status, Lopez said, which is having a marked impact on industries like agriculture, construction, manufacturing and hospitality.
Meanwhile, the so-called “Project Firewall” is heightening scrutiny for H-1B visa applications “across the board,” Lopez said.
The Fraud Detection unit is getting more involved in adjudication review of visa applications early in the process, with particular attention to the question of “reverse discrimination”—increasing scrutiny on a company’s ratio of immigration-related hires to U.S.-born talent.
See also: Trump 2.0 and immigration: What employers need to know
An evolving landscape for DEI
Apart from immigration changes, the about-face on DEI between the Biden and Trump administrations has also created a compliance mess for HR. In fact, DEI was the top-ranked policy area—just ahead of immigration—that Littler’s survey respondents cited as impactful on the business over the past year.
Other recent Littler research found that more than half of organizations surveyed are considering new or continued DEI rollbacks, while 60% of enterprises are worried about litigation related to their DEI stances.
Jim Paretti, co-chair of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute, said now that the EEOC has restored its quorum, more DEI rollbacks could be on the horizon, as well as an increased focus on the employment rights of religious workers.
“The chair hasn’t hesitated to actively move forward on that agenda,” Paretti said.
A ‘rollercoaster’ of uncertainty for employers
As regulations shifted rapidly over the last year, economic volatility has also grown, creating a perfect storm for uncertainty.
And employers are responding. According to Littler, more than one-third of survey respondents—and over 40% of large organizations—have reduced headcount because of uncertainty related to the economy and changing workplace regulations. The response isn’t universal; for instance, reductions and hiring pauses are common in manufacturing but less so in sectors like healthcare.
“The past year has been a rollercoaster for employers,” said Shannon Meade, executive director of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute. And she predicted the uncertainty is likely to persist, with “a series of new obstacles, and employers bracing for more change in the year ahead.”
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