Written by Nam Douglass, Esq., Partner, N.C. Board Certified Immigration Law Specialist.
President Donald Trump began his second term in the White House on Jan. 20, 2025, and immediately issued a flurry of executive orders related to immigration policy.
The Trump administration’s focus on immigration since taking office signals that more policy changes are expected in the near future.
The initial immigration actions taken by the Trump administration have varying effects on employers, employees, and global mobility. Employers are expected to face challenges in leveraging their global talent and workforce.
With potential for disruption to workforce planning and compliance burdens, it is essential for employers to understand the most recent immigration actions during Trump’s first month in office, and how they may affect them, their employees, and overall global mobility.
Potential for Travel Ban
It is highly likely that Trump will implement another travel ban, which was one of the signature policies of his first administration.
Trump issued an executive order entitled “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security Public Safety Threats” shortly after he was sworn in for his second term. In the order, he instructs various agencies to identify “countries throughout the world for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals,” within 60 days of him taking office.
This language foreshadows the potential for a travel ban that may impact any number of counties that could be even more stringent than those issues under the previous administration. In fact, our Firm expects travel bans to be instituted by March 20 based on the timeline of review in the directive.
Any travel ban issued as a result of this executive order will affect employers’ ability to bring new employees to the United States from the targeted counties, and impact their current workforce.
While current employees may not have the ability to leave the United States for either business or personal travel if their home country is impacted by the travel ban, new employees could also face challenges with entering the United States to begin their employment. This could include employees from an impacted country who are outside of the U.S. at the time the ban is implemented as well as international students located abroad.
Employers should work to ensure that employees slated for an international transfer to the United States complete their immigration process and enter the country as soon as possible. Companies also should have clear internal policies related to international workers and overseas travel for international business needs.
Further, employers should also continue to monitor news about the travel ban(s) as there is the potential for more countries to be added to the list of impacted nations. This was the case for the travel bans issued during the first Trump administration.
Employers also may need to quickly pivot to address workforce needs in the event restrictive travel bans are put into place. They should consider consulting with experienced immigration counsel to discuss their options.
New travel bans could likely face lawsuits in federal court delaying final implementation.
Enhanced vetting
In the same “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security Public Safety Threats” executive order, Trump instructed all agencies to “vet and screen to the maximum degree possible all (foreign nationals) who intend to be admitted, enter, or are already inside the United States, particularly those (foreign nationals) coming from regions or nations with identified security risks.
This executive order will have major implications for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of State (DOS) and all other agencies connected to the immigration process because it will likely cause increased processing and adjudication backlogs for almost all case and visa types.
This will also impact visa processing at U.S. consulates abroad resulting in a roll back of visa waiver protocols, longer wait times for consular appointments, and an increase in administrative processing. These delays are likely to be similar to those experienced during the first Trump administration, resulting in greater backlogs.
Additionally, this policy could also be used by the Trump administration to realign USCIS adjudication policies resulting in an increased issuance of RFEs and denials.
The Biden administration codified USCIS’ “deference to previous decisions” policy before leaving office. This codification will make it more difficult for the Trump administration to overturn that policy.
However, this codification will not preclude the second Trump administration from re-aligning internal agency adjudication policies. This could have wide-ranging implications and effects including for the evaluation of “specialized knowledge” in nonimmigrant visa petitions; revisiting the nature of specialty occupations for H-1B; and using non-substantive changes in job duties to require re-adjudication.
TPS and other Humanitarian Parole Programs
The Trump administration has paused all Humanitarian Parole Programs, including the Uniting for Ukraine initiative. Initial and renewal applications for the program are not being adjudicated at the time of publication. The program has not officially been cancelled yet, but indications point to its eventual termination.
Further, the Trump administration vacated as of Jan. 28, 2025, Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans, and their status will expire on either April 1 or September 10, 2025, depending on their arrival date in the U.S. The current administration is also expected to sunset or end other TPS and humanitarian programs for Afghans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Cubans. As of March 2024, approximately 863,880 foreign nationals hold TPS in the United States.
Businesses with foreign nationals who are work authorized incident to one of these TPS or humanitarian parole programs may no longer have the ability to employ these individuals. Evaluation of alternatives, such as sponsoring them for an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa, should be considered, if that option is available for the foreign national. Otherwise, businesses should assess the impact of losing critical members of their staff and outline strategies to overcome those potential gaps in their workforce.
Worksite visits
Worksite visits off all types significantly increased during the first Trump administration and are likely to do so again during his second term in the White House. As a best practice, all employers should prepare for a potential worksite visit from Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS), the Department of Labor (DOL), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
This preparation could include:
- Designating points of contact. Assign a primary representative and an alternative and train them on compliance and interaction protocols including areas off limit to inspection.
- Understanding their employee makeup and their immigration statuses.
- Organizing documents. Keep organized and accessible records, including corporate documentation, visa petitions, STEM OPT training plans, LCAs, payroll records, and I-9 records. Ensure records are kept separate from other employee files and documentation.
- Ensuring employee awareness. Inform employees of potential visits and their rights. Employees should refer investigators to the designated representative and avoid extraneous information.
- Reinforcing facility readiness. Ensure compliance with OSHA standards and display required notices.
Employers should contact immigration counsel as soon as agents or officers arrive at their worksite, or they receive a Notice of Inspection (NOI). They should also consider consulting with experienced immigration counsel to develop a plan for any such worksite visit.
MORE — Government Worksite Visits: At a Glance
Reduction in federal workforce
Trump offered a “buyout” to all federal employees during the initial weeks of his administration. The buyout allowed employees to resign by Feb. 6 while continuing to receive pay and benefits for eight more months.
Around 60,000 people, or about 3% of the federal workforce, accepted the buyouts, according to CNBC. The buyouts are facing legal challenges in federal courts and the offers were temporarily paused in early February. The administration is also preparing this month “to fire hundreds of high-level Department of Homeland Security employees,” according to NBC News.
This sudden decrease in the federal workforce at one time will significantly affect the processing and adjudication of immigration petitions. This could create increased delays at the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Labor, and the Department of State as there will be less individuals/staff to review cases.
These agencies are already dealing with backlogs, and any potential loss of staff will exacerbate the issue. Employers should consider onboarding requirements and client needs to evaluate whether premium processing is appropriate and consult with experienced immigration counsel to strategize for the potential of extended backlogs at federal agencies.
Asylum seekers and Refugees
The United States refugee program has been suspended as part of the executive order entitled “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program,” that was signed by Trump on Jan. 20. The order calls for the Secretary of DHS to “admit aliens to the United States as refugees on a case-by-case basis, in their discretion, but only so long as they determine that the entry of such aliens as refugees is in the national interest and does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the United States.”
Further, Trump disabled the CBP One app, which asylum seekers used to set up appointments in advance at the Southern border and cancelled all previously scheduled appointments. He also re-instated his “Remain in Mexico” policy, which requires all asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while they await case processing.
Employers who regularly hire refugees or asylum seekers should be aware that these programs have been significantly scaled back and seem likely to remain at record-low levels during the Trump administration.
Birthright citizenship
Trump issued an executive order on the first day of his second term that could potentially change the interpretation of birthright citizenship in the United States.
That order had an effective date of Feb. 20, 2025, (30 days from the date the proclamation was signed) but was immediately blocked nationwide by multiple federal judges.
In practice, the order would mean that individuals who are born inside of the United States without a parent who is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident at their time of birth will no longer be entitled to automatic citizenship. This includes children of foreign nationals who are present in the U.S. without status, as well as those who are in the country legally with a work visa or other temporary visa, such as a tourist or student visa.
If the order is ever implemented, employers may receive more inquiries from foreign national employees to begin the green card process as soon as possible, if birthright citizenship changes in any way. Foreign national employees will want to begin the green card process as soon as possible if their children, born in the U.S., are no longer entitled to automatic U.S. citizenship. These employees may understandably have concerns about their children “aging out” of the system as dependents on their green card applications.
Further reading: Can U.S. birthright citizenship be changed? A comprehensive overview
Resources
ICE visits Q&A for healthcare employers, hospitals, and clinics
Employees: Know your rights in the workplace
ICE visits Q&A for schools and universities