On President Donald Trump’s first day back in office, while signing an executive order to declare an emergency at the border with Mexico, he told reporters about a clear distinction in his mind between legal and illegal immigration. “I’m fine with legal immigration,” he said in the Oval Office. “I like it. We need people.”
But the Trump administration stopped processing those people. In recent days, the State Department paused all immigrant visa applications from every country. The excuse is that “in-depth training” is needed for officers who handle visas to cover the revival of the “public charge” policy, which requires green card applicants to demonstrate they will not need welfare once granted the right to stay indefinitely in the United States. In practice, the visa pause is another draconian crackdown on legal pathways, one that discourages foreigners from playing by the rules.
The blanket “pause” came days after a federal judge in New York struck down Trump’s visa ban on 75 countries, saying it discriminates against applicants based on their nationality. Apparently out of spite, the administration responded by declaring that, temporarily, there will be no visas for anyone.
This is the latest move to curb legal immigration, including the administration’s attempt to slap a fee of more than $100,000 on every new visa given to a highly skilled worker sponsored by a company. The White House also plans to revoke up to 200,000 visas from people who entered the United States on a tourist or work visa and then claimed asylum.
It is difficult to measure the amount of personal and economic pain created each time the president announces a new visa ban. Law-abiding immigrants spend months, often years, going through the process. They pay thousands of dollars in fees, attend many appointments and meticulously follow the rules to get their work or residency status over the line. They understand what a privilege and opportunity it is to live in America, so they invest in the process and wait for approval.
The administration’s worldwide disruption to the legal process undermines its fight to curb illegal immigration. Following the rules does not protect against arbitrary disputes and setbacks. Foreign workers are being asked to invest their money in a process that can be paused at any time on political whims.
The president understands the cost of these pauses. Last fall, Trump called for more foreign investment in America on Truth Social, writing that “we encourage you to LEGALLY bring your very smart people” to the U.S. and that his administration would make the process “quickly and legally possible.” He defended skilled immigration on Fox News.
The U.S. is close to full employment, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, meaning Americans who want to be employed are largely able to find work. Meanwhile, foreign workers who are doing everything by the book and are ready to help fill millions of job vacancies have been put in limbo.
This harms the U.S. economy. It harms law-abiding immigrants. And it undermines the president’s message that playing by the rules will be rewarded.
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