The United States closed its doors to almost all foreign workers who entered last year. The causes were Covid-19 restrictions that blocked global borders and Trump administration policies that drastically reduced work visas, with the exception of agricultural workers. The effect was an unexpected experience on one of the most debated issues in the country – the relationship between the labor market and immigration.
The preliminary finding: even with unemployment soaring in the United States, companies that depended on foreign workers and managed to remain open during the pandemic had a difficult time filling jobs, employers said.
Unemployed American workers were not interested in jobs normally held by foreign contractors on the lower, seasonal end of the labor market, and the visa ban did not help those not qualified for specialized jobs on the upper end, according to Alex Nowrasteh, director immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute.
In April, with the start of the pandemic, the Trump administration temporarily banned possible green card holders from moving to the United States in search of jobs and permanent residence. In June, Trump expanded the ban to include most temporary work visas, except for agricultural workers, citing health risks and a rising unemployment rate in the U.S. President Biden did not announce his plans to ban the work visa, which runs until March.
These visa programs are a small part of the overall immigration picture – they do not include the broader migration of people to the United States for reasons such as fleeing violence or poverty, or joining family members. Work visa programs target specific categories, even niches; they include temporary visas for babysitters and foreign students who work as lifeguards and long-term visas for highly qualified technology workers and foreigners starting their own businesses here.