Trump's Immigration Policies and Their Potential Impact on U.S. Businesses

As Donald Trump prepares for a second term as President, most media outlets are focusing on his aggressive stance on immigration, primarily centered on border security, asylum and mass deportations. However, Trump’s election is also expected to have a dramatic impact on U.S. businesses that utilize foreign workers. His 2025 campaign platform and his prior term in office, provide insights on potential new policies that will impact the employment-based immigration landscape. Focusing on the “Buy American and Hire American” platform, Trump’s prior immigration policies increased the level of scrutiny and denials of employment-based petitions and visa applications across a wide spectrum of immigration categories. In his second term, Trump has promised to bring back the travel ban, increase vetting of overseas visa applicants, and shift to a merit-based immigration program which favors U.S. workers over foreign workers, all of which are intended to strengthen the Buy American and Hire American policy. We expect that Trump’s proposed changes to current immigration policies will have an immediate and direct impact on the ability of U.S. companies to bring in foreign workers from overseas, and limit their ability to tap into the talent pool of foreign students currently studying in the U.S.

For companies expecting to face challenges and disruptions in their workforce and business, we recommend contacting your Masuda Funai relationship attorney or any member of Masuda Funai’s Immigration Practice Group.

Masuda Funai is a full-service law firm with offices in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Schaumburg^.