Following his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, President Trump issued a number of immigration-related Executive Orders (EOs) sure to have impact on employers and their business operations. So far, the focus in the media has been on border security, asylum, refugees, removal of undocumented aliens (deportation) and birthright citizenship. However, there are other aspects covered by the EOs that will have far more impact on U.S. employers and could potentially impact business operations. While we anticipate court challenges to some or all of the EOs, we anticipate that many of the EOs will withstand litigation and will be implemented substantially. Below is a summary of the EOs:
Banning Birthright Citizenship
This EO directs federal agencies to refuse to recognize U.S. citizenship for children born in the U.S. to mothers in the country without authorization or who are present in the United States on nonimmigrant visas, if the father is not a U.S. citizen or green card holder. The order will deny U.S. citizenship, including passports, to children born in the United States 30 days from Jan. 20, 2025, if at least one parent is not an American citizen or green card holder. It is not clear what immigration status, if any, these children would hold at birth or if these children would be issued U.S. birth certificates.
Please note: Several lawsuits have been filed challenging this EO. Following a suit filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle by the attorneys general of Washington State, Oregon, Arizona and Illinois, Judge John Coughenour enjoined enforcement of this order, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional.”
Potential Impact on Employers if Upheld
- Increased visa sponsorship costs if the employer covers dependent visa legal and filing fees;
- Potential travel delays for visa employees traveling with family for holidays or vacations as U.S.-born children will require passports of the parents’ home country, dependent visas issued by U.S. consular posts abroad and outbound visas to visit and transit countries that do not typically require visas for U.S. citizens; and
- These children will lose lawful immigration status at age 21, the age at which children are no longer deemed dependents for immigration purposes, potentially impacting long-term colleague retention. This could be a particular concern for visa employees from countries like India and China, where foreign-born children often age-out due to lengthy green card backlogs.
Enhanced Visa Vetting
President Trump has signed an order to enhance vetting and screening of undocumented aliens, suspend entry of migrants from countries of particular concern and re-establish a uniform baseline for visa screening and vetting standards and procedures consistent with the baseline that existed during the last Trump administration. During his first administration, President Trump banned travel from countries, including Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days with certain exceptions. The bans were challenged in court, but the Supreme Court ultimately upheld them.
Potential Impact on Employers
- Lengthy visa processing delays related to background checks for traveling work visa employees;
- Disrupted business travel for citizens of banned countries, preventing them from leaving the U.S. for fear of becoming stranded outside the country;
- Difficulty filing extension of status and change of status petitions for citizens of these countries; and
- Disrupted business travel for all visa employees with temporary work visas.
Recission of President Biden’s EO Designed to Limit Requests for Evidence and Denials
One of President Trump’s EOs revoked 78 Biden EOs, including President Biden’s EO Number 14012 (Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans) which established USCIS deference to prior decisions in certain cases, for instance H-1B extensions; streamlined the naturalization process; and reduced the number of Requests for Evidence and denials received by employers and individuals applying for immigration benefits. The Trump EO will lead to reinstatement of USCIS adjudication practices in place during the first Trump administration.
Potential Impact on Employers
- Increased scrutiny of employer visa petitions and denials, including the end of deference to prior adjudications/decisions;
- Increased costs and processing times associated with non-immigrant and immigrant visa petitions;
- Limited number and scope of individuals employers are able to sponsor for immigrant and nonimmigrant visas;
- Disrupted HR and other internal operations;
- Increased Requests for Evidence, Notices of Intent to Revoke or Deny. Denials can create uncertainty about visa employees’ ability to remain with the business and, in some cases, impact an individual’s work authorization;
- Anticipated changes to the H-1B program such as re-defining “specialty occupation,” increasing wage requirements, and prioritizing H-1B cap registrations based on compensation levels could further limit employers’ ability to sponsor foreign nationals for H-1B visas; and
- Anticipated restrictions on F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT), termination of certain work authorization programs, such as H-4 EADs might force employers to reevaluate their talent acquisition pools and strategies.
Potential Recission of Humanitarian Parole and Temporary Protected Status
President Trump signed an EO on enforcement of U.S. immigration laws which, among other focus areas, aims to limit Humanitarian Parole to individuals who demonstrate “urgent humanitarian reasons for a significant public benefit derived from their … continued presence in the United States.” The EO also seeks to ensure “that designations of Temporary Protected Status are consistent with the provisions of section 244 of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1254a), and that such designations are appropriately limited in scope and made for only so long as may be necessary to fulfill the textual requirements of that statute.” Furthermore, the EO seeks to ensure “that employment authorization is provided in a manner consistent with section 274A of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1324a), and that employment authorization is not provided to any unauthorized alien in the United States.”
During President Trump’s initial term, he attempted to terminate TPS designations for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, El Salvador, Nepal and Honduras. These terminations faced court challenges that resulted in injunctions against the termination of TPS designations.
If President Trump attempts to terminate TPS designations for any of the currently designated countries, similar legal challenges and injunctions are anticipated.
Individuals granted Humanitarian Parole and TPS are permitted to live and work in the U.S. in usually granted one-year increments.
Potential Impact on Employers
- Employees authorized to work pursuant to Humanitarian Parole may be unable to renew their parole and related work authorization or they may receive Requests for Evidence requesting evidence of their need for Humanitarian Parole. (Renewal of Humanitarian Parole is within DHS’s discretion.) Barring legal challenges or work authorization through alternative avenues such as a pending asylum application, these workers may be terminated for lack of work authorization.
- Workers from countries facing TPS termination would need to monitor pending litigation, including when and how to renew TPS. Relevant information about pending litigation, injunctions and steps DHS takes to comply with injunctions is communicated through Federal Register Notices for each country, available at Temporary Protected Status | USCIS.
- Employers would need to monitor employment authorization expiration dates, including automatic extensions, for TPS holders that may be impacted by litigation and conduct I-9 re-verifications accordingly.
Creating “Homeland Security Task Forces”
President Trump has signed an EO to establish “federal homeland security task forces” to enable federal, state and local law enforcement to cooperate in removing gang members, criminals and undocumented individuals. The EO also prioritizes execution of the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens.
We also anticipate increased ICE enforcement actions, including I-9 audits and investigations, employer site visits and raids at workplaces or in immigrant communities to find undocumented workers.
Employers should have an action plan in place in the event of an ICE enforcement action. This is particularly true for employers in industries that employ large numbers of workers who may be undocumented or who have temporary work authorization.
Potential Impact on Employers
- Worksite disruptions and absences as undocumented workers or those living in mixed-status families may be concerned about coming to work;
- Workers fear detention under the new Laken Riley Act because they have had prior arrests, have been charged with a crime — even if they have not been convicted, or are under investigation for a criminal offense;
- In the event of an I-9 audit or investigation, an employer could face civil fines up to $2,789 per form and up to $5,579 for knowingly hiring undocumented workers, for a first offense;
- Criminal charges and penalties of up to 10 years and fines of up to $250,000 for harboring undocumented workers;
- Debarment from federal contracts; and
- Operational disruptions and public relations challenges.