On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump signed several executive orders related to immigration. The orders are wide-ranging. Some address the deployment of active-duty troops to U.S. border regions. Others aim to shut down asylum access and pause refugee resettlement. One attempts to restrict birthright citizenship. Perhaps the most damaging to the long-term economic health of the U.S. is the executive order to enhance security vetting of all visa applications. While the goal of increasing public safety is laudable, similar vetting in the first Trump Administration slowed legal immigration significantly, reducing the number of foreign-born workers available to contribute to the economy.
These executive orders, if they are all fully implemented and enforced, will restructure American immigration policy to be primarily focused on enforcement and will reduce the pace of legal immigration to the U.S.
Immigration is important to the future prosperity, vitality, and security of our country. There are currently millions of open jobs, and the U.S. birthrate continues to fall. By 2040, all population growth in the U.S. is projected to come from immigrants. Rather than focusing solely on enforcement, the U.S. government should design an immigration system that meets today’s needs and promotes economic growth.
As we saw with the immediate reversal of many of the prior administration’s policy priorities, executive orders are less permanent than legislation. Any future administration can reverse these executive orders just as easily as President Trump reversed the last administration’s executive orders on Inauguration Day. Legislation reforming the U.S. immigration system is essential to create lasting and impactful change and has the benefit of being informed and shaped by open debate between members of Congress.
