The United States has closed the door to almost all foreign workers who entered last year. The causes were the Covid-19 restrictions that blocked global borders and the Trump administration’s policies that drastically reduced work visas, with the exception of agricultural workers. The effect was an unexpected experiment in one of the most pressing issues in the country – the relationship between the labor market and immigration.
Preliminary conclusion: Even with rising unemployment in the US, businesses that relied on foreign workers and were able to stay open during the pandemic have struggled to find jobs, employers said.
Unemployed American workers were not interested in jobs typically held by foreign employees at the lower and seasonal end of the labor market, and the visa ban did not help those unskilled for skilled jobs at the upper end, according to Alex Nowrasteh, director immigration studies at the Cato Libertarian Institute.
In April, as the pandemic set in, the Trump administration temporarily banned potential green card holders from moving to the United States for jobs and permanent residence. In June, Mr. Trump extended the ban to include most temporary work visas, with the exception of farm workers, citing health risks and a rise in the US unemployment rate. President Biden has not announced plans to ban work visas, which will run until March.
These visa programs are a thin part of the overall picture of immigration – they do not include the wider migration of people to the US for reasons such as fleeing violence or poverty or joining family members. Work visa programs target specific, even niche categories; these include temporary visas for nannies and foreign students working as lifeguards and long-term visas for highly technically skilled workers and foreigners starting their own businesses here.