In a move to address increased seasonal demand across various industries and curb irregular migration, the U.S. federal government is set to offer nearly double the number of H-2B temporary worker visas for the 2024 Fiscal Year compared to the current year. 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Labor, a proposed regulation that would make an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available, supplementing the Congress-mandated annual quota of 66,000.

The primary objective behind this expansion is to meet the rising demand for seasonal labor while simultaneously addressing concerns related to irregular migration, as outlined by the Department of Homeland Security.

Key points regarding the H-2B visa expansion include:

1. The proposed regulation will bring the total number of available H-2B visas to 130,716 for the 2024 Fiscal Year.

2. Among the additional visas, 20,000 will be allocated to specific countries, including Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti.

3. Approximately 45,000 supplemental visas will be provided to temporary workers who have been granted H-2B visas in the past three fiscal years.

The H-2B program enables U.S. employers to hire non-citizens for nonagricultural work that is seasonal or temporary in nature. To participate, businesses must first demonstrate to the Labor Department that there is an insufficient number of qualified U.S. workers available for their staffing needs. Moreover, they must show that employing H-2B workers would not adversely impact wages or working conditions for domestic workers in similar positions.

Despite the increase in available visas, the demand for H-2B visas consistently surpasses the allocated quota, a fact highlighted by the American Hotel and Lodging Association. 

“The H-2B Workforce Coalition, which AHLA co-chairs, worked hard to convince the Biden Administration to offer this considerable expansion, which nearly doubles the yearly allocation of H-2B visas,” AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers said . “These extra visas will be crucial to helping hotels and resorts in remote vacation destinations fill seasonal roles, and we thank Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas for making them available. But we still need help from Congress to get hoteliers across the country all the employees they need. That includes establishing an H-2B returning worker exemption, passing the Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act, and passing the H-2 Improvements to Relieve Employers (HIRE) Act.”

The HIRE Act, introduced in July by Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) along with several bipartisan cosponsors, would extend the time an H-2B worker could stay in the U.S., and would streamline the process for a returning worker to renew their visa. 

The bill is supported by many business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which said the legislation “will diminish the onerous compliance burdens for employers desperately seeking the workers they need.” 

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Border state governors, including Ariz. Gov. Doug Ducey, are calling on the Biden administration to continue the use of Title 42, a Trump-era public health measure that permits the expulsion of migrants at the United States-Mexico border as a means to slow the cross-border spread of Covid-19.

Ducey sent a letter to Biden on July 16, , “As Arizona continues to deal with the man-made crisis at our border, ending Title 42 will threaten the health and safety of not only Arizonans, but all Americans, and our already broken border will explode, overwhelming border patrol, law enforcement, non-profits and health care professionals.”

The governor was joined by border state members of congress Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., Rep. Yvette Herrell, R-N.M., and Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas, in backing a resolution in support of Title 42.

“During my recent trip to the Southern Border, agents from throughout our immigration system—Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations and Air and Marine Operations, Border Patrol, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement—all highlighted the importance of Title 42 Public Health Authorities in protecting our nation from COVID-19 and enhancing our border security,” Lesko said in a .

The Biden administration is under pressure from progressive groups like the American Civil Liberties Union to drop its use of Title 42.

The Trump administration in 2020 enacted Title 42, which allows for the expulsion of undocumented migrants through the public health authority held by the federal government. The previous administration justified Title 42’s adoption under the Public Health Service Act of 1944, which allows for the director of Disease Controlif they believe that “there is a serious danger to the introduction of a communicable disease into the United States.”

Despite the opposition from progressive interest groups, the Biden administration has not ended Title 42’s use. The administration has cited Covid-19 concerns, including recurring outbreaks and variants of the virus, as justification for leaving the policy in place. 

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, “is driven by the public health imperative. It is not a tool of immigration. It is a tool of public health to protect not only the American people but the migrants themselves.” 

The ACLU, a , and other progressive groups last week took the battle over the measure to court, arguing that it is being used as an anti-immigration tool rather than as part of a Covid-19 mitigation effort. 

While Title 42 has been in effect, the U.S.-Mexico border has seen record numbers of asylum seekers. 

In the first six months of 2021 there were more than at the border, of which 575,000 were immediately turned away under Title 42. 

Dylan Corbett, the executive director of the Hope Border Institute, the migrant surges are indicative of the need for broader immigration system reforms.

“That means things like making sure that we are rebuilding our refugee system to receive refugees from around the world, that we are taking positive steps to receive asylum-seekers and restore the process of asylum at the border,” he said. 

The Centers for Disease Control earlier this month issued an announcement about extending the order because the risk of transmission of Covid-19 at the border is still prominent. 

The agency that the order “shall remain in effect until the CDC Director determines that the danger from covered noncitizens has ceased to be a serious danger to the public health, and the order is no longer necessary to protect the public health.”

The debate over Title 42’s use is occurring alongside the severe restrictions on so-called “non-essential” border crossings at the U.S. northern and southern borders that apply to documented travelers, including from neighboring Canada and Mexico.

The U.S. since March of last year has limited the entries at land border ports of entry only to those crossers engaged in what DHS deems essential travel, like traveling to work or school.  

The restrictions at the land ports of entry, which apply to documented Canadian and Mexican nationals as well as travelers from outside North America, do not exist in the air environment, which means a Mexican national with a valid visa can fly into the U.S., but cannot drive.

The restrictions have harmed border community economies, according to business community advocates.

Jason Wells, executive director of the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce south of San Diego, said his community has struggled. 

“Sad part is, 1,900 jobs were lost, 1,900 families that counted on mom or dad for a job to put food on the table, those jobs don’t exist anymore,” Wells . “Look, on San Ysidro Boulevard, 95% of our clientele is coming from Mexico, and the vast majority of these are pedestrians with tourist visas, precisely those that can’t come across today and haven’t been able to for 18 months.”

The mayors of San Diego and surrounding Imperial Beach, Chula Vista, National City, and Coronado co-signed a last month to Mayorkas about the consequences of the travel restrictions. 

“Our region is suffering from a weekly economic hit to our retail sector of at least $7.5 million due to the continuation of non-essential travel restrictions,” they wrote. 

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For the first time in decades, the nation’s largest guest worker programs could be seeing significant reform. 

Introduced by Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chair of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship, and John Curtis (R-Utah), the aims to reform employment-based (EB) green cards, the H-1B visa program, and family-sponsored visas.

Broken immigration system

Major immigration reform has been proposed by the past five presidential administrations, including the Biden administration. However, the last major update to the nation’s immigration laws was the Immigration Act of 1990. 

That act established caps on many visa programs, including the H-1B visa and a per-country cap on employment-based green cards. As a result, skilled workers are often unable to immigrate to the United States, and those who do are often unable to stay, as green card quotas from large countries are the same number as smaller countries under current law.

“We are now seeing recruiters from outside America luring those with highest skills away from the U.S.,” Lofgren said in a .

For decades, and have used merit-based immigration programs, de-emphasizing immigrants’ countries of origin in favor of the needs of their employers. In many cases, potential immigrants are awarded “points” for language skills, degrees and salary offers, with visas being offered to those meeting a required threshold. The United Kingdom a similar program this year.

H-1B visa reform

Since the Immigration Act of 1990, the H-1B visa has been one of the most popular visas for skilled immigrants and employers unable to find niche workers domestically. 

The program allows employers to sponsor potential immigrants for temporary permission to enter and work in the U.S. Generally, the visa is valid for three years and extendable for six additional years. However, employers can sponsor H-1B visa holders for permanent residency, commonly referred to as a green card.

Currently, only 85,000 H-1B visas are issued each year, with 20,000 reserved for applicants with master’s degrees and PhDs from American universities. Each year, there are far more than 85,000 applicants sponsored by American employers and a lottery is held.

The program is commonly criticized as being susceptible for fraud, with employers sponsoring and hiring immigrants for less than they would pay an equivalent American worker.

The bill aims to make it harder for fraud to occur, by requiring all H-1B job postings to be listed on the Department of Labor’s website for 30 days and prohibiting an employer from employing more than 50% of its workforce through the H-1B program. Additionally, the EAGLE Act would adjust wage requirements for H-1B jobs to reflect variations in cost of living throughout the United States.

The bill’s sponsors argue that by reducing abuse of the H-1B visa program, American employers truly needing immigrant workers will be better able to meet their needs, without having to increase the H-1B visa cap.

Green card reform

As only a maximum of seven percent of employment-based green cards can be issued to nationals of one country, immigrants from India and China – the world’s two largest countries – seeking permanent residency must face .

The bill seeks to remedy current backlogs by gradually phasing out per-country caps by 2032 to prevent U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from being overwhelmed with backlogged applications.

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Two members of Congress on opposite sides of the political aisle talked to the business community Tuesday about what they are doing to help pave a path to citizenship for the nation’s immigrants, including millions of employees of all skill levels.    

Representative Kathy Manning (D-North Carolina) and Representative Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) spoke about their efforts to provide such an avenue for “law-abiding, tax paying” immigrants during a virtual Common Grounds forum hosted by the , the world’s largest business advocacy organization.  

The virtual was started this year to routinely bring together one Republican leader and one Democratic leader to find common ground on issues important to businesses and the nation’s economy. The hope is that, over a cup of coffee, the meetings will “brew bipartisanship” among the divided parties to find solutions that are in the best interest of the nation and economy. 

Immigration reform is a key goal of the U.S. Chamber and its members, including the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Path to citizenship essential to new economy 

Manning and Salazar are each working on new comprehensive immigration reform packages, the Democrats’ U.S. Citizenship Act and the Republicans’ Dignity Plan. Meanwhile, the House already passed two bills last month that call for protections for Dreamers and farmworkers. Manning and Salazar voted in favor of each.   

Rep. Manning said the House Democrats newest package is “the kind of comprehensive immigration reform that we have been hoping for since the last comprehensive immigration bill passed — and that was in 1986.”

“When you think about how our economy has changed, how society has changed, how the world has changed since 1986, it makes you realize how long overdue our immigration reform is,” Manning said.  

Rep. Salazar said reforms for immigrant employees and their families are essential for sustaining the American economy, which is roaring back to life. 

“We have to change the way we encounter the whole immigration world,” Salazar said. “We have to allow for those people who have merit and will be good for the marketplace or whatever business owners in America need at this hour.”  

New to Congress, both Harvard educated   

Both Manning and Salazar are new to Congress. Both are Harvard educated. And both are members of the House . 

Congress has not found the will to find common ground on a comprehensive reform package. But the two said they are willing to try. 

Despite gridlock on immigration, both parties’ reform packages are similar in many respects. 

The Democrats’ U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021

Manning is working with colleagues on the 353-page , which was introduced to both houses in February by the Biden administration and Democrats. 

If passed, it would create the largest legalization program in U.S. history, providing an avenue for an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants to become citizens and expedite the process for farmworkers.

Among the highlights:

Temporary legal status Undocumented individuals who have been in the U.S. for five years could apply for green cards if they pay their taxes and pass criminal and national security background checks. Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, and immigrant farmworkers who meet specific requirements would be eligible for green cards immediately. After three years, all green card holders who pass additional background checks and demonstrate knowledge of English and U.S. civics could apply to become citizens. 

Stimulate the economy The bill includes a number of measures designed to stimulate the economy such as making it easier for graduates of U.S. universities with advanced STEM degrees to stay in the United States and improve access to green cards for workers in lower-wage sectors. The bill also provides dependents of H-1B visa holders work authorization, creates a pilot program to stimulate regional economic development, gives the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to adjust green cards based on macroeconomic conditions, and incentivizes higher wages for non-immigrant, high-skilled visas to prevent unfair competition with American workers.

Smarter border controls Funding would be allocated for technology and infrastructure to deploy technology to expedite screening and enhance the ability to identify narcotics and other contraband at every land, air, and sea port of entry. This includes high-throughput scanning technologies to ensure that all commercial and passenger vehicles and freight rail traffic entering the U.S. at land ports of entry and rail-border crossings along the border undergo pre-primary scanning. It also would authorize funding for plans to improve infrastructure at ports of entry to enhance the ability to process asylum seekers and detect, interdict, disrupt and prevent narcotics from entering the U.S. 

Funding to assist and negotiate with Central America The bill funds a $4 billion four-year inter-agency plan to address the underlying causes of migration in the region. It would include increasing assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras conditioned on their ability to reduce the corruption, violence and poverty that causes people to flee their home countries. 

The Republicans’ Dignity Plan  

A few weeks ago, Salazar and other congressional Republicans presented a similar comprehensive package that is in the working stages. It places more emphasis on border security. 

In presenting the package, Salazar stated that dignity and redemption must be part of the solution for immigration reform, particularly for hardworking immigrants who have been waiting for years, even decades, for a road to citizenship.   

Among the highlights in the Dignity Plan are:

Border security New funding to enhance border security including “an impenetrable border infrastructure system” that would include enhanced physical barriers and new technology to secure ports of entry.

Immediate protection for Dreamers The bill would provide immediate legal status for Dreamers, young adults who were brought to the country as children by their undocumented parents or relatives. The bill provides a 10-year path to a renewable legal status if they have not committed any crimes. 

Asylum reform The package calls for cracking down on fraud and abuse within the asylum program and improving processes for accepting individuals fleeing natural disasters, war and other crises in their home countries. In turn, it would enhance  enforcement of immigration laws to “ensure criminals are removed immediately.”

Legal status for non-felons The proposal also would pave the way for non-felon immigrants to gain legal status and expand visas for agricultural workers. Funding to assist immigrants to attain English language proficiency is also included.

Mandatory E-Verify The bill would require companies to implement in hiring all employees to certify that they are not undocumented citizens. Arizona is one of at least 10 states that require E-Verification for employment.  

Employers urged to contact elected leaders 

In concluding the forum, Manning and Salazar said business leaders and employers can help get reforms passed by contacting their local and federally-elected officials.   

“I think the best way to help is to gather your stories and call your members of Congress and call your senators, particularly call your senators, and tell them what your experience is,” Manning said.

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Two immigration bills supported by business and industry that would secure essential workers for the future for Arizona and other states sailed through the U.S. House of Representatives last month. Arizona Congressman Greg Stanton co-chaired a task force that rallied bipartisan support for its passage.

Now, in the Senate’s hands, chambers and trade groups are watching closely. Congress in the last decade has failed repeatedly to pass meaningful immigration reforms. 

The two measures, the American Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workers Modernization Act, would secure a pathway for Dreamers to live and work here permanently without the threat of deportation and would make it possible for hundreds of thousands of immigrant farmworkers to remain in the U.S. legally as well, Stanton said. 

“These two bills earned our endorsement because they do right by the immigrants who have called our country home for so long — and they’re the right thing to do for our economy,” Stanton said. 

As Congress bickers, huge problems “go unaddressed” 

Both bills are “critically important” for the business community and it’s time to “stop bickering about immigration and letting huge problems go unaddressed,” said Neil Bradley, chief policy officer for the largest business advocacy organization in the nation, the U.S. Chamber, that is calling on Congress to finally take action on immigration reform.

In hopes of putting their feet to the fire, the chamber will be tallying how lawmakers vote in their annual scorecard to keep its some 300,000 members on alert. 

What’s in the Dream Act and Farmworkers Modernization Act  

Arizona’s Rep. Stanton co-chaired the immigration task force that garnered support in the House to successfully pass both bills with two-to-one margins. The task force operates under the auspices of a group of 94 Democrats in the House called the New Democrats. The centrist-leaning group is committed to passing policies that strengthen the economy and describes itself as “pro-economic growth,” “pro-innovation” and “fiscally responsible.”

Here’s a snapshot of the two bills:

The (H.R. 6), would provide a path to citizenship for Dreamers, young adults who were brought here as young children by their undcomented parents or relatives, and for certain Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) recipients. TPS and DED allow foreign nationals to remain in the U.S. if during the time they were in the U.S. something catastrophic happened in their country of origin preventing their safe return.

The (H.R. 1537), makes reforms to the H-2A agricultural guestworker program and creates a first-of-its-kind, merit-based visa program specifically designed for the nation’s agricultural sector.

It would allow undocumented farm workers who pass necessary background checks and pay a $1,000 fine to receive temporary legal status. This status could be renewed indefinitely for as long as the individual maintains farm employment. There would also be a path to permanent residency for longtime workers, streamlining of the H-2A visa process, new wage standards, and a mandate for E-Verify for agriculture.

“These changes will help stabilize and preserve the American agricultural sector by ensuring farmers can meet their labor needs well into the future,” he said.

Both bills of particular importance to Arizona

Arizona has one of the largest populations of Dreamers in the nation, the majority of whom are in school or working, many in essential jobs including health care during the pandemic. 

An analysis conducted by the New American Economy in 2019 showed that, together, individuals eligible for DACA in Arizona earn $23 billion in total household income each year and contribute $4 billion of that income to federal, state, and local taxes. 

“The average Dreamer is 26 years old, speaks English, attended school here or holds a job. Many have started families of their own,” said Garrick Taylor, the interim president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry. “Our nation cannot continue to subject major portions of immigration policy to the whims of one administration to the next. Congress must act to deliver a durable solution rooted in law. DACA recipients should not only be shielded from deportation but should be provided a path to eventual citizenship.”  

Immigrant farm workers also provide essential jobs for a key economic sector in the state. Yuma farmers, for example, supply 90 percent of all leafy vegetables in the U.S. in the winter months. A 2017 by the University of Arizona’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Cooperative Extension, revealed the agribusiness system generates $23.3 billion in sales annually. The system directly and indirectly supports more than 138,000 Arizona jobs, employing more than 162,000 workers.

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The CEO of the largest business advocacy group in America, the United States Chamber of Commerce, outlined a plan to help the nation’s economy fully recover from the pandemic during his 2021 annual Address in Washington, D.C. 

First and foremost, businesses and the U.S. Congress must work to heal a divided nation and get the public vaccinated, said Thomas Donohue, the CEO of the Chamber, who made the virtual address this month to about 10,000 attendees worldwide. 

“It’s true that, at home and abroad, we are operating at a time when people don’t always have a lot of faith in institutions. There’s mistrust in government, questions about the credibility of our democratic systems, contempt for capitalism. For different reasons, these factors have helped drive rising support for nationalism or socialism and other divisions,” Donohue said. “Some even ask if these are signals of national decline.

“Well, to that I say: no one has ever bet against America and won. We have it within us to make this a pivot point in our history.”

Call on nation to “rally for recovery” 

In his speech, Donohue urged both industry and national policymakers to “rally for recovery” through infrastructure, immigration reform, workforce reskilling, and global competitiveness. 

With 10 million American jobs lost in the last year, and small business disproportionately impacted – particularly minority – and women-owned businesses, many of which have closed – the Chamber is calling on policymakers to focus on a “broad-based” economic recovery. 

“Some industries, businesses, and segments of the workforce have thrived,” he said. “But it’s a very different story for those who have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. Entire industries have been decimated because people aren’t traveling, gathering, shopping, or going out like they used to.” 

To help achieve that, Donohue laid out the Chamber’s priorities this year:   

Continued economic relief for those hardest hit 

Donohue said the Chamber will work with the incoming Congress and President Joe Biden’s administration to ensure industries, businesses and workers make it through the end of the pandemic-induced economic crisis. With continued stimulus relief from Congress, growth could return to pre-pandemic levels by the third quarter of this year, he said. 

Long-overdue infrastructure package 

In what has become an annual tradition, Donohue called for national lawmakers to finally pass a “fiscally and environmentally responsible” infrastructure package. 

One way to raise productivity, create jobs, and drive up incomes in a hurry is through a package to modernize infrastructure including roads and bridges and critical networks and to upgrade and expand technology like broadband to deal with the new digital economy where millions of Americans are now working remotely, he said. 

“Even in a 50-50 Senate and a House divided by 5 votes, this can be done—and it might build some goodwill for bipartisan progress on other priorities,” Donohue said. “We’ve been working on this for more than 20 years. Let’s find a way to pay for it, and let’s get moving. This year, there can be no excuses for failure.”

Reskilling an “inclusive” American workforce to meet job demand 

Reskilling workers with an emphasis on women and people of color will foster economic growth, Donohue said. The chamber will be pressing Congress for rapid training programs to connect the unemployed with jobs in new sectors. Employer-led initiatives should lead the way to align industry needs and in-demand skills.

“Some of the best-paying sectors—such as health care or financial and professional services—have more job openings than available workers. If we do this right and do it quickly, we will improve the living standard for millions of Americans and get our economy growing even faster,” he said.

Tackle racial inequality and advance immigration reform  

In addition to job reskilling, Donohue stressed that policymakers need to tackle race-based systemic inequality in education, entrepreneurship, and the criminal justice system – as outlined in the Chamber’s – and immigration reforms to ensure the American workforce is highly skilled. 

Pro-business policies 

As a new government prepares to take the reins, it must not return to excessive regulation or anti-competitive taxes, Donohue warned, citing the positive effects of regulatory relief and pro-business policies on the economy before the pandemic. 

“Now is exactly the wrong time to further test the resiliency of businesses by hiking taxes or heaping on new regulations that do more harm than good,” he said.  

Global engagement to reach 95 percent of consumers 

Finally, Donohue spoke of the need for America to “reengage with the world” through a trade agenda that is focused on selling products to the 95 percent of consumers who live beyond U.S. borders. 

In recent years, the nation’s resilience has been tested through trade wars and tariffs, he said. 

“Yes, let’s make more products in America, but let’s also sell them to the rest of the world. We must extend our reach to the 95 percent of the world’s customers who live beyond our borders. We must catch up to the countries that are inking new trade deals left and right. And we must lift the tariffs that have hurt American manufacturers and farmers and have been paid by American companies and their customers.”

Donohue also called for the U.S. to reaffirm American leadership in multilateral organizations like the and the .

Engage strategically with fastest growing market: China 

China is the biggest global challenge the nation faces, Donohue said. It’s also the biggest market. 

“We must work to stabilize the relationship through strength and cooperation. At the same time we also have to confront the unfair trade and industrial policies that China uses against U.S. companies,” he said. “We must work with our allies to stand up to China, while also pursuing new negotiations with Beijing to protect our intellectual property.”

Growth is fastest path to shrink “extraordinary” expenditures of 2020 

The pandemic is far from over, but if Congress sufficiently supports the economy with the relief it needs, the nation should recover more quickly and be better able to pay down the nation’s $27 trillion debt.

Arizona Chamber voices optimism as new president enters office 

As President Biden entered office Wednesday, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry voiced its optimism in working toward common . Many of its priorities align directly with the U.S. Chamber’s include tariff-free trade, an infrastructure package that includes water infrastructure and updated ports of entry, and immigration reform to help employers and workers including providing a path to citizenship for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival Program (DACA). 

“We’re encouraged that President Biden is going to make immigration reform a top priority of the early days of his administration,” said Glenn Hamer, president and CEO at the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry. “We will strongly support a plan that puts DACA recipients and Dreamers on a path to citizenship, which we are confident will receive broad, bipartisan support.” 

The business community also looks forward to working with the Biden administration in reforming the country’s “byzantine visa system,” Hamer said. 

“Too many jobs across the economy are going unfulfilled, but a better visa policy can help. We can also build on the promise of the TN visa class and make it easier for professionals in our USMCA partner countries Canada and Mexico to bring their talents here. We also want to work with the new administration on a plan to safely and responsibly ease pandemic-related border travel restrictions.”

To read a complete list of the U.S. Chamber’s goals for this year, go to .

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Several of the largest business advocacy groups in the U.S. have filed a joint lawsuit to stop the federal government from moving forward with new restrictive measures that are handicapping companies’ ability to meet workforce needs through “lawful immigration.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Retail Federation, Technology Network and others filed the complaint in response to a proclamation issued by the White House, “purportedly” in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to free up jobs for Americans, the complaint states. 

The action could result in as many as 500,000 people – many among the” best and brightest” – being banned from coming to the U.S. this year, the complaint states.   

Top professionals not welcome

Named as defendants are the departments of Homeland Security and State, and their respective heads, Acting Secretary Chad Wolf and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in their official capacity.

“Our lawsuit seeks to overturn these sweeping and unlawful immigration restrictions that are an unequivocal ‘not welcome’ sign to the engineers, executives, IT experts, doctors, nurses and other critical workers who help drive the American economy,” U.S. Chamber CEO Thomas  Donohue said in a statement after the lawsuit was filed. “Left in place, these restrictions will push investment abroad, inhibit economic growth and reduce job creation.”

It’s also unrealistic to expect companies to immediately alter their domestic operations to find half a million replacements for these valuable workers, states the complaint that was filed in federal court in San Francisco July 21.

Overstepping executive boundaries 

In issuing the proclamation, the Trump administration unlawfully exceeded the “statutory and constitutional authority of the Executive,” the lawsuit states. 

These restrictions “are far outside the bounds of the law and would deal a severe blow to our industry,” Linda Kelly, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) said in a statement after the lawsuit was filed. 

“We cannot let this stand. These overreaching, unlawful restrictions don’t just limit visas, they will restrain our economic recovery at a time when the very future of our country hangs in the balance,” Kelly said.   

Industry should be focused on recovery and not on visa restrictions that “will hand other countries a competitive advantage because they will drive talented individuals away from the United States,” she said. 

Most restrictive immigration policies in “nearly a century” 

Chamber CEO Donohue echoed those concerns in an piece he wrote for the New York Times explaining why it was necessary to file a lawsuit.

Donohue stated that American innovation is threatened by the worker visa policy and other recent restrictive policies. Among those is the administration’s efforts to cancel the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, right after the program was upheld by the Supreme Court on June 18. 

He also cited the White House’s recent failed effort to ban international students from attending American colleges and universities that hold classes virtually in the fall.

“Taken together, these are the most restrictionist immigration policies in nearly a century. This is a fundamental mistake at a time when our nation’s economy is already suffering,” Donohue said.

Skilled workers, researchers, scholars among those banned

Among the visas suspended are H-1B visas for skilled workers that are relied on by the technology industry; H-4 visas for spouses; H-2B visas for seasonal workers; J-1 visas for researchers, scholars and au pairs; and L-1 visas for executives who transfer to the U.S. after working for the same employer abroad.

“This proclamation is meant to protect American jobs but instead it threatens the millions of rank-and-file workers whose jobs rely on experts coming up with the latest technology to keep retail moving forward,” Stephanie Martz, National Retail Foundation chief administrative officer and general counsel, said in a statement.

Groups that filed lawsuit represent millions of businesses, consumers

Among the organizations that filed the complaint:

U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing more than 3 million companies and professional organizations of every size, in every industry sector, and from every region of the U.S.  

National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the U.S., representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. 

National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade association, representing discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants, and internet retailers from the U.S. and more than 45 countries. 

Technology Network is the national, bipartisan network of technology CEOs and senior executives that advocate for the growth of the innovation economy at the federal and all 50 states. TechNet’s represents over three million employees and their customers in the fields of information technology, e-commerce, the sharing and gig economies, advanced energy, cybersecurity, venture capital, and finance. Intrax, Inc. is a cultural exchange company that operates multiple Department of State-designated exchange programs that bring participants to the U.S. on J-1 visas for individuals approved to participate in work-and study-based exchange visitor programs.

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The Supreme Court is expected to rule any day on the status of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an Obama-era policy that  shields from deportation millions of those whose parents brought them to the United States at a young age. President Trump’s Administration the program early in his term, arguing that such sweeping immigration policy should be the domain of Congress, not solely the Executive Branch.

In 2017, when the administration announced its intention to terminate DACA, President Trump issued a regarding his decision: “I do not favor punishing children, most of whom are now adults, for the actions of their parents. But we must also recognize that we are a nation of opportunity because we are a nation of laws.”

Details of the case

The case before the court is Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, and justices will determine if the administration followed correct protocol and procedure in terminating the program. This includes proper justification for the decision and adequate adherence to the processes in place.

, a DACA recipient and the founder and CEO of Aliento AZ, a DACA advocacy group and , there are “three to four likely scenarios.”

The “worst case-scenario for DACA recipients” is that the Supreme Court not only rules that the president followed proper procedure, but that the program itself was unconstitutional. This means that “it can set a precedent for other programs in the future,” says Montoya.

A more likely equally distressing outcome for DACA recipients is that the president’s termination of the program was justified and that the court will allow a “phase-out” of the program.

Another possibility is that the Supreme Court sends the case back down to lower courts. While not ideal for proponents of the program, it does mean that it would continue to be litigated and thus avoid an immediate termination.

“One of the deepest fears” among “DACA-mented” individuals is that the program could be terminated “on-the spot.” However unlikely, it is still within the realm of possibility.

Whatever the outcome, it is sure to be one of great importance.

Luis Acosta’s story

Luis Acosta, a public affairs professional, had the opportunity to share his story as an immigrant and DACA-recipient.

“My family came to the United States when I was two-years old,” says Acosta, “Growing up during S.B. 1070 and the Sheriff [Joe] Arpaio raids, you learn to hide.” 

Acosta was able to go public about his DACA status when he served as Arizona’s director for the Mike Bloomberg for President campaign earlier this year and was, featured in a campaign video on immigration policy.

The focus of his career has been working internally within organizations “to help them draft and create pragmatic policy that’s really going to push everybody forward in a positive direction.”

For him, this moment is a crossroads. A program “that has given so many opportunities just in the state of Arizona” is now at risk of termination. There are “roughly 30,000” DACA-mented people in the state. Each and everyone of them is worried that once again they will have to go into hiding.

There are “countless people in Arizona who have been nothing but stand-up citizens, and now their lives are being left in limbo,” Acosta says.

Economic impact

Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, believes that keeping the DACA program in place is “the right thing to do morally. You start there.” But, he says, you cannot neglect the enormous positive economic impact immigrants—particularly DACA recipients—have in Arizona.

“These are people who are going to university. They’re working. They’ve been in the military,” Hamer said. “They’re all contributing to a better Arizona and to a better America.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has also made clear: “Ending DACA would be a nightmare for Dreamers. A nightmare for businesses. A nightmare for America’s economy.”

According to a compiled by the U.S. House Committee on Small Business, “DACA enrolled and eligible immigrants contribute roughly $2 billion each year in state and local taxes.” Deporting DACA recipients could “cost $60 billion and reduce economic growth by $280 billion.” This means that it could cost the United States “over $460 billion in economic output over a decade.”

What’s next?

There is one sure path to comprehensive immigration reform that all sides seem to agree on: bipartisan cooperation in Congress. Despite the hyper-polarization of the current world, polls show a glimmer of hope for proponents.

According to a by Gallup, an all-time high of 55% of Americans believe that immigrants “mostly help” the economy. Furthermore, over 80% of Americans favor a path to citizenship for undocumented people currently living within the United States. Better yet for DACA proponents, a revealed that 83% of Americans favor the DACA program specifically.When President Trump approved the winding down of the program in 2017, he also made clear that he would favor congressional action to renew the program. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, then-White House press secretary, that the president wanted “DACA made permanent as part of ‘comprehensive’ immigration legislation.”

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