This Issue: What else can Trump do through the immigration system to protect American workers?

Pres. Trump took unprecedented action earlier this week by signing a proclamation that suspends new entries from several guest worker programs for 6 months. That includes most of the H-1B higher-skilled program and the H-2B non-agricultural, lower-wage program. You can read more about the proclamation by clicking here.

As Roy noted in his alert to the NumbersUSA membership, Pres. Trump's proclamation is another step in what we hope will be continuing administration efforts to protect the more than 47 million Americans who have lost work since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. There are many more actions the Trump Administration can take.

Let's take a look at a couple.

OPT/CPT -- Approximately 4 million Americans have graduated, or will graduate, from college this year. The Optional Practical Training (OPT) program allows foreign students who also graduate from a U.S. college or university to stay and work in the United States for up to 3 years and provides a tax incentive to the businesses that hire them.

For foreign students who are still in school, the Curricular Practical Training (CPT) program allows them to gain employment with U.S. employers while they are studying. CPT allows foreign students to get a foot in the door, which can eventually lead to post-graduate employment through the OPT program.

In 2018, these two programs issued close to 300,000 work permits to foreign students, taking job opportunities away from recent American college graduates and students. Both programs were created by the Executive Branch, so they can easily be ended by, and should be ended by, the Trump Administration.

B-1 visa - The B-1 nonimmigrant visa allows foreign business travelers to enter the United States and stay for up to 1 year. Employers have used the B-1 visa to circumvent both the H-1B and L-1 intercompany transfer visas.

Under the B-1 visa, foreign workers are supposed to enter the country for training, attending a meeting or conference, or negotiating a contract. They are not authorized to conduct work in the U.S., but there is little oversight provided.

The Trump Administration can end the abuses within the B-1 visa program by reducing the length of stay to only 30 days.

EB-5 visa - The EB-5 visa program allows foreign investors, mostly from China, to invest a reasonably small sum of money in a U.S. business in exchange for a green card.

Pres. Trump's new proclamation extended his original pause on most employment-based green cards, however the EB-5 is still exempt from the suspension.

Worker protection regulations on the way

The Trump Administration is also planning to post several federal regulations aimed at further protecting American workers and reducing the number of discretionary work permits issued each year.

Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security announced a new regulation that will extend the waiting period for work permits for asylum seekers to one year. This regulation should help reduce the number of fraudulent asylum claims made by removing the reward of a work permit.

We've posted messages on your Action Board you can send to Pres. Trump to thank him for protecting American workers and to encourage him to take further actions.

Chris Chmielenski NumbersUSA Deputy Director