Trump Administration moves on Visa, Immigration and Citizenship reforms before mid-term elections
25 Sep 10:56
Trump dispatches troops to the Mexican frontier as caravans of Honduran migrants travel north
In light of this week’s midterm elections, President Donald Trump is acting stern on illegal immigration. US military have arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border and have begun to disperse across southern Texas, erecting barbed wire fences in an attempt to deter anyone attempting to enter the country without a U.S. visa. The governor of the Mexican state of Veracruz, Miguel Angel Yunes, offered to provide 100 buses to transport the migrants elsewhere. Due to scheduled repairs to the city’s water supply, Mexico City is reportedly unable to accommodate them.
He later retracted this statement. The migrant caravans have been nonviolent thus far, with some migrants suggesting that since Trump’s mother was a Scottish immigrant, he should have more empathy for their plight.
Some locals disapprove of the anti-immigrant rhetoric and view the presence of military as a waste of public funds, whereas others support the highly visible measures taken to discourage immigration without the appropriate visas.
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Trump intends to eliminate birthright citizenship; could the president amend the United States Constitution?
President Donald Trump highlighted his America First policy last week when he tweeted that birthright citizenship would be eliminated in one way or another. He argued that this is not subject to the 14th Amendment due to the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof”, prompting a heated debate.
Liberals, such as political historian Allan Lichtman, view this as political manoeuvring ahead of the elections rather than a serious policy proposal, which raises concerns about the alleged immigrant threat. Lichtman asserts that the original proponents of the 14th amendment intended birthright citizenship to be nearly universal. It was granted, for instance, to the offspring of Chinese residents who themselves were ineligible for citizenship at the time.
Conservative attorneys, however, see a loophole, arguing that the 14th Amendment was intended to apply only to those who owed entire allegiance to the United States and were subject to its complete jurisdiction, specifically newly-freed slaves who were subject to no other foreign power. They want to remove any incentive for individuals to enter the US illegally and have children who would become citizens of the country.
Lichtman believes that the current anti-immigrant rhetoric is not new and that nationalism and dread of immigrants date back to the founding of the United States. To amend the 14th Amendment, the only alternative to a presidential order would be to amend the United States Constitution. This action would necessitate a supermajority, consisting of a two-thirds majority in Congress and a three-quarters majority in the states: this is why constitutional amendments are so uncommon.
Employers of foreign employees on H-1B visas are now subject to stricter regulations
The news that Washington has just introduced new provisions to the H-1B visa application process that require US employers to disclose the number of foreign workers they employ, thereby making it more difficult for them to sponsor new foreign employees, is also a reflection of America First.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that is especially popular among Indian professionals. It allows U.S. companies to hire foreign employees in sectors requiring technical or theoretical expertise, such as information technology.
Before offering sponsorship to a guest worker from a foreign country, a business must obtain approval from the Department of Labour under the new regulations. The Department of Labour must certify that no qualified American candidate is available for a particular position before an employer may engage a foreign national under the H-1B visa programme.
Updates to the application form will require companies to submit additional information about employment conditions for H-1B employees, such as workplaces, as well as an estimate of the number of H-1B workers at each location. Employers who rely on H-1B visa employees who claim an exemption based on education, such as a graduate degree, will also be required to provide complete documentation of the degree.
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