On September 23, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security issued a boastful press release, claiming that they had removed or encouraged the self-deportation of over “two million illegal aliens” out of the United States in less than 250 days. This aggressive enforcement effort has been carried out by the Trump Administration’s deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Border Patrol, and National Guard agents to enforce immigration laws across the country.
A New York Times case study revealed border patrol agents made over 130 arrests in Charlotte, North Carolina in just two days. As of November 2025, ICE is holding 65,735 human beings in detention centers. While proponents may argue that these policies protect American workers, evidence suggests that these restrictive immigration policies threaten to undermine America’s economic competitiveness, create critical labor shortages across key industries, and reduce the nation’s innovative capacity.
Talent Drain
Donald Trump issued a proclamation on September 19, 2025 that required non-citizens with an H-1B visa to pay $100,000 to enter the United States. The administration clarified that the proclamation applies only under special circumstances, including:
- H-1B petitions filed on or after 12:01 a.m ET on September 21, 2025.
- Cases where the beneficiary is outside the United States and doesn’t have a valid H-1B visa.
- Cases where the beneficiary is in the U.S. but the petition requests consular/port of entry notification
- Cases where for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) denies a change of status, extension, or amendment.
The H-1B visa applies to employers seeking to hire workers in specialty occupations, with the ultimate goal of hiring employees who have skills and abilities that they cannot obtain from the US workforce. This new fee would limit businesses from hiring H-1B workers, adding onto the cost businesses have to pay the workers’ salaries, lawyer fees, and other costs associated with hiring an H-1B worker. This will reduce competition in the US job market and encourage technology companies to leave the United States, which hold the top spots for approvals of new H1-B petitions.
In the fiscal year 2025, Amazon had 4,644 approved H1-B petitions for initial employment. When the United States turns down these workers, nations such as India, China, and Canada benefit. These countries were already significant sources of skilled labor and now retain jobs that would otherwise move to the United States. A prominent example is Microsoft’s ongoing expansion in Vancouver, Canada, where the company can access talent without navigating frustrating U.S. visa policies.
Due to these restrictive policies, companies may look to relocate to other countries where visa costs are lower and immigration systems are easier — such as Canada, the UK, or Australia. The H-1B fee ignores the reality that there are certain skill shortages in the US — in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and machine learning. According to a 2023 study published in Management Science by Dr. Britta Glennon, H-1B restrictions cause U.S. multinational corporations to shift operations overseas. The research reveals that for every H-1B visa rejection, the average multinational corporation hires 0.4 employees abroad, while the most globalized companies hire 0.9 employees abroad per rejection.
The argument to invest in the domestic workforce is important for the long-term, but requires years of training for US workers. Rather than immediate restrictions that force businesses away, a more gradual approach would allow for universities and companies to build these skills. This compromise would address workforce goals without creating an immediate talent shortage. Many of these highly-specialized roles require years of advanced training; a company needing AI researchers cannot wait for an undergraduate to complete a four year-degree program, then get a PhD, then gain experience in the field. Restricting H1-B visas will not magically produce qualified candidates, it only leaves companies with unfilled positions, project delays, or relocating operations.
America is not just losing jobs, but losing innovation to foreign countries.
Labor Shortages
The United States faces critical labor shortages in industries such as health care, agriculture, construction, and entrepreneurship. Immigrants have become essential to such sectors, especially health care. The US health-care system is overloaded with an aging population and widespread chronic disease. According to the CDC, three in four American adults have at least one chronic condition, while over 90 percent of adults age 65 or older live with chronic illness. These conditions create $4.9 trillion in annual healthcare costs. The health-care system struggles with workforce shortages, leaving many facilities unable to find workers, and immigrants have consistently stepped in to fill these gaps and provide vital services that keep the health-care system functioning.
The loss of immigrant workers directly affects the cost of healthcare. When hospitals and medical centers cannot fill positions, they rely on temporary staff, who often receive premium wages. This creates a costly and constant cycle of recruiting, hiring, and training. The average cost of replacing a single registered nurse can be anywhere from $40,000 to $64,000. For healthcare facilities that are already struggling with funding and increased patient demand, this expense can create a ripple effect into the quality and cost of care.
Nationally, the American Immigration Council found that 15.6 percent of all nurses and 27.7 percent of all health aides nationwide are immigrants. In California, New Jersey, Maryland, New York, and Florida, over 1 in 4 nurses are immigrants. The Council also found that immigrants are twice as likely as US-born workers to work as home health aides, and twice as likely to work as physicians and surgeons.
With the Trump Administration’s extensive health-care cuts, mass deportations, and attacks on undocumented immigrants, many vulnerable populations are in danger. Ten million people will lose their healthcare insurance due to the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act.’ Simultaneously, they’re endangering the stability of the healthcare system in the US. Many of those consequences are already being felt by our health care system and will have long-term impacts on American residents. For example, Maine Family Planning no longer offers primary care to patients due to a $2 million cut in Medicaid reimbursements. This will not only affect the 70 percent of its patients who depend on Medicaid, but eliminates a fraction of practitioner roles at all 18 clinics.
What Happens Next
As of October 2025, Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller set a target for three thousand arrests per day. Trump plans to install border patrol officials to lead a more aggressive migrant crackdown. ICE agents have recently begun using militarized tactics such as rappelling into apartment buildings and jumping out of rental trucks in coordinated raids.
New Orleans might be the next city to be targeted as ICE moves into North Carolina. Already, we see protests such as that by the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression in New Orleans on November 22, and the US Government should anticipate many more across the country.
The economic consequences of these enforcement policies will show in many sectors. Agricultural industries in states like California, Florida, and Texas are already reporting severe labor shortages as workers face fear of deportation or frozen visas. Florida, a reliably Republican state, relies on the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker Visa to fill about 50,000 positions each year. If visa processing does not start soon, workers may not arrive until halfway through harvest season. Florida produces 6.5 percent of US fruit and vegetable output, including over 90 percent of the nation’s orange juice. A disruption in immigration labor will fracture the food supply chain and affect grocery prices nationwide.
Also, more restrictive immigration means fewer working-age immigrants paying taxes. Tax receipts are down almost 30 percent in Firebaugh, CA, as people don’t want to go out to shop and eat due to fear of ICE. The city has to consider cutting down its police force, parks, and senior center — essential services that benefit all residents regardless of their immigration status.
States have started to respond in different ways. Notably, California, Illinois, and New York have strengthened sanctuary policies. In 2025, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Roul released guidance for law enforcement prohibiting them from assisting federal immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant. On the other hand, Texas passed S.B.4, attempting to prohibit sanctuary city policies that would protect immigrants. This bill would allow state officials to arrest, detain, and remove individuals suspected of being illegal aliens. However, there were many complaints filed against this law, including by a federal district court, and the law has not gone into effect as of January 2026.
The New York Times predicts that net immigration in 2025 is on track to be close to zero or even negative. With that, a lack of immigration will reduce labor demand. A reduction in immigrant consumers means reduced business revenue and fewer jobs overall — including for native-born workers — exacerbating existing hiring shortages across multiple sectors created by US tariff policy.
There are terrible human costs of immigration enforcement that extend beyond policy or economics. If parents face detention or deportation, their US-born children are left behind. Families have to choose between leaving their children with relatives or in the foster care system, or take them to countries they’ve never known. This fear surrounds immigrant communities and creates a constant state of hypervigilance. Educators report increased absences in students who worry that their parents won’t be home when they return from class.
Mental health professionals document symptoms of persistent anxiety, depression, and trauma. This trauma isn’t just for families directly affected; it shapes entire communities. When children watch federal agents drag their neighbours away, certain vehicles create tension in a neighbourhood, or sirens trigger panic. Perhaps, the most abhorrent is the normalization of his dehumanization: when political leaders refer to human beings as ‘illegals’. When a generation of children are taught that some human beings are ‘illegal,’ or that families deserve to be separated, these lessons shape their understanding of justice and humanity, and it will dictate their understanding of American citizenship and moral responsibility.
The long-term social and economic damages of these policies will haunt American society for generations, especially if these policies continue to be justified and legalized. America is becoming inhospitable to immigrants, and we are all worse off for it.
