New immigration rule on 'green cards' could affect over 500,000 people annually
· Telemundo McAllen (KTLM)
The new rule from U.S. President Donald Trump, which requires 'green card' applicants to return to their home countries while awaiting a decision on their immigration status, represents a significant setback for legal immigration and could impact over half a million people each year, experts consulted by EFE warn. The regulation, implemented last week, will prevent migrants already in the country from adjusting their immigration status in the United States, forcing them to return to their home countries to apply for the so-called 'green card' at consulates. This measure breaks with a practice approved by Congress since 1952 and 'will have a very negative impact on the lives of truly millions of people,' said Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). 'It will complicate many people's lives because they will have to leave their jobs. If they cannot work remotely from another country, they will likely lose their jobs. After losing income, they may be separated from their families for at least months, and in many cases, perhaps most, for years,' he commented. Although there is no precise number of those affected by the measure, the EPI researcher noted that more than half of the million people who obtain a 'green card' each year do so through adjustment of status within the United States. According to the latest official figures from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 58% of the over 1.35 million migrants who obtained legal residency in the United States in fiscal year 2024, which reached 782,770 people, did so this way. The greatest impact will be on migrants with family in the United States, warns the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), as half of the new legal residents are immediate relatives of citizens within the U.S. The policy will also affect immigrants with jobs in the United States, religious workers, beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), or 'parole' (humanitarian permission), and individuals who have lived in the country for a long time, explained Benjamin Johnson, AILA's executive director, in a virtual talk with journalists. Additionally, the memorandum issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is 'very vague,' as it does not clarify all types of affected migrants or exceptions, making it impossible to know this with certainty, noted Shev Dalal-Dheini, AILA's director of government relations. Despite the government's claim that this only requires migrants to return home and apply for a visa, Johnson labels this as 'dangerous misinformation.' 'This is not about buying a plane ticket and waiting a little longer. For many people, the process of consulting is not realistic or safe, and for others, it could mean months or years of separation from spouses who are U.S. citizens, children, employers, and communities,' he considered. The measures reflect that the Trump administration is not 'only attacking illegal immigration,' according to Costa, who believes 'it is very clear that they want to reduce legal immigration and are taking steps to do so.' As an example, he cites the halt to asylum at the border with Mexico, the removal of TPS benefits, the pause on refugees except for white immigrants from South Africa, and the suspension of immigrant visa processing for 75 countries, including Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Uruguay. This will affect the economy, as before Trump's arrival, nearly one in five workers in the United States was an immigrant, cited the EPI expert, who estimates that the country would lose 6 million jobs, 40% of them held by Americans, if the president fulfills his goal of carrying out four million deportations. 'This will have a significant negative economic impact for the entire country and, combined with the impacts we are seeing from the Iran war, this is another very problematic issue for the economy,' Costa pointed out.
AI summary · Source: Telemundo McAllen (KTLM) →
