The United States appears to be becoming more isolationist as the Trump administration introduces a series of restrictive immigration measures. Since returning to the White House, US President Donald Trump has tightened entry rules, upgraded vetting procedures and expanded deportation operations, ushering in a crackdown on immigrant communities.
At the beginning of his new term, Trump announced the reinstatement of the “Remain in Mexico” program and halted entry through the US Refugee Admissions Program. The administration has also planned significant H-1B visa changes, aiming to replace the current random lottery system with a wage-tier and skill-based allocation model. While intended to prioritize top talent, this approach would significantly reduce opportunities for lower-skilled applicants and raise barriers for many technical immigrants. Meanwhile, citing national security, the government has paused work visas for foreign commercial truck drivers, even as it opened a fast-track citizenship channel for wealthy foreigners willing to pay $5 million. More disruptive is Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship, a move that, if implemented, would overturn the jus soli principle enshrined in the US Constitution for more than 150 years.
In late August, the administration launched a continuous vetting policy, which applies to “all of the more than 55 million foreigners who currently hold valid US visas.” The system expands monitoring to include social media accounts, law enforcement and immigration records in their home countries, as well as biometric information such as fingerprints, iris scans and DNA. Student visas face heightened scrutiny, with more than 6,000 reportedly revoked as of mid-August.
In parallel, immigration enforcement has been stepped up through mass deportations. Military forces have been deployed to the US-Mexico border and “Alligator Alcatraz” has been expanded to detain illegal immigrants. The government also supports the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carrying out raids in sanctuary cities and even in schools, hospitals and churches. National Guard troops have been dispatched to assist in arrests in Los Angeles and Washington. In June, ICE arrested an average of more than 1,300 undocumented immigrants per day, more than double the daily average during Trump’s first 100 days in office.
The economic consequences are becoming evident. The Federal Reserve has warned that tighter immigration rules are aggravating labor shortages. In the first half of this year, immigrants’ share of the US labor force declined from 20 percent to 19 percent, a reduction of about 750,000 workers. Agriculture has been affected, with reports of crop losses, while manufacturing and food services have also experienced downward pressure. Rising labor costs and weaker consumer demand are creating additional challenges, testing the resilience of the US economy.
Social implications are likewise emerging. States with stricter enforcement, such as Texas and Florida, are showing weaker economic momentum, while states like California and New York continue to grow under comparatively more flexible approaches, widening regional disparities. Minority communities report growing unease, with studies indicating that Latinos are stopped and searched at disproportionately higher rates than whites, and Asian populations have faced targeted screening on “national security” grounds. Politically, the debate over immigration is fueling sharper confrontation between the two parties, straining the judiciary and widening rifts between the executive and judicial branches.
As the world’s largest immigrant-receiving country, the US has historically relied on immigration to sustain its economic vitality and innovative capacity. Yet Trump’s drive to pursue extreme populist goals by harshly tightening immigration controls risks disrupting the demographic balance, deepening labor shortages and undermining the country’s ability to attract global talent. Whether the US continues on a path of restriction and isolation, or recalibrates toward openness and inclusiveness, will play a significant role in shaping its global competitiveness in the years ahead.
The views are extracted from Jiuwanli (meaning 90,000 Miles) account and do not necessarily reflect those of facts.org.cn.
