- On Monday, President Donald Trump extended a freeze on immigration visas.
- Trump cited the lost jobs and economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic for the move.
- The decision is in line with the Trump administration's efforts to limit immigration to the US and plays on rhetoric that immigrants steal jobs from Americans.
- However, data has shown that immigrants help create jobs and normally work in positions that complement the work of Americans.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
On Monday, President Donald Trump extended a freeze on immigration visas through the end of the year claiming it would help protect as many as 525,000 jobs for Americans after the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump signed a proclamation that would extend the 60-day freeze on work visas put in place in April until the end of 2020 and will halt H-1B, H-2B, H-4, J-1, and L-1 visas.
"American workers compete against foreign nationals for jobs in every sector of our economy, including against millions of aliens who enter the United States to perform temporary work," the proclamation states. "Under ordinary circumstances, properly administered temporary worker programs can provide benefits to the economy. But under the extraordinary circumstances of the economic contraction resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak, certain nonimmigrant visa programs authorizing such employment pose an unusual threat to the employment of American workers."
The measure is in line with a history of efforts by the Trump administration to limit immigration under the presumption that immigrants steal jobs from Americans.
This proclamation would affect jobs in the tech industry, at universities, as well as au pairs, Business Insider previously reported.
According to PBS, immigrants tend to have jobs that Americans that usually complement American workers or make it easier for Americans to do their jobs. They tend to work odd hours, and in more dangerous conditions as well.
Au pairs or other child care providers for instance allow Americans, especially women to enter the workforce. Additionally, immigrants are also taking up jobs to take care of the US elderly population, PBS reported.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 17% of the labor force are immigrants, however, they're mostly doing the work that Americans don't want to do, or that needs to be done to allow more Americans to work.
"Most economists agree that in spite of being a very big part of the labor force, immigrants have not come at the cost either of American jobs nor of American wages," Peri, the UC Davis professor, told PBS.
According to the Pew Research Center, immigrants are helping combat a shrinking workforce. Without immigration, as Baby Boomers retire, and the US birth rate drops, Pew estimated that the workforce would shrink from 173.2 million in 2015 to 165.6 million in 2035.
Without a strong workforce, programs like Social Security, which is funded by people working, would see a decrease in its budget, and economic growth is likely to shrink or be stagnant.
Additionally, Immigrants also start new businesses and in turn create new jobs. They also spend the money they earn in American stores and other businesses to help boost the economy, according to the Service Employees International Union.
According to the Harvard Business Review, immigrants in the US tend to contribute around twice as much to entrepreneurship as native-born citizens do, and also tend to create more successful businesses. A study from the Harvard Business School found that immigrant-founded businesses performed better in terms of employment growth over three and six years than businesses founded by native citizens.
A 2017 study by the Center for American Entrepreneurship found that more than 40% of companies in the Fortune 500 were founded by first- or second-generation immigrants.
But even on a small business scale, many local communities benefit from immigrant-owned businesses from restaurants, hotels, or grocery stores.
"It sends a very powerful negative signal to the rest of the world: 'Don't come to the United States. We don't want you,'" John Dearie, president of the Center for American Entrepreneurship, a nonpartisan group that supports immigration previously told the Associated Press on the Trump administration's immigration policy. "That's terribly damaging."
While the proclamation claims that jobs are being lost to immigrants, many companies have said the move would limit them from hiring necessary talent.
Many technology companies like Apple and Google rely on H-1B visas to employ foreign professionals and H-4 visas to allow their spouses to come, so this move would hinder their innovation capabilities — and they responded with frustration to the latest Trump proclamation.
"America's continued success depends on companies having access to the best talent from around the world," said Google spokesman Jose Castaneda in a statement. "Particularly now, we need that talent to help contribute to America's economic recovery."
TechNet President Linda Moore told The Washington Post that the new policy would "slow innovation and undermine the work the technology industry is doing to help our country recover from unprecedented events."
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