JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The Trump administration has doubled down on its immigration policy this week. According to a new memo issued by the State Department, the U.S. will pause immigration visa processing for a list of 75 countries. This is one of many changes aimed at controlling both immigration numbers and the types of immigrants coming into United States. Joining us now is Julia Gelatt. She's the associate director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute. Hi there.
JULIA GELATT: Hi.
SUMMERS: Julia, just start by telling us, what do we know so far about this freeze of visa processing for 75 countries?
GELATT: Yeah, the reporting suggests that the State Department will stop issuing immigrant visas - so permanent visas - for people from these 75 countries on January 21. This includes some bigger-sending countries to United States, like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cuba, and could really slow legal in-migration. We looked at data from recent years, and almost half of people getting immigrant visas come from these 75 countries.
SUMMERS: And do you have a sense, from what you've seen and heard, of why the Trump administration says they're doing this? What's the administration's goal?
GELATT: They say that they're doing this pause in order to buy time to figure out how to better screen out people who are likely to become a public charge. That means somebody who's likely to be dependent on the government to get by by using public benefits. This is a very broad-brush approach. They're trying to find people who have low incomes and might need government assistance, but they're blocking everybody from these 75 countries while they work on changing their processes.
SUMMERS: When you take stock of this pause for 75 countries, do you view it as part of a bigger trend from what we've seen regarding the Trump administration's immigration policies?
GELATT: I definitely think so. The Trump administration has emphasized over and over the downsides of immigration. They talk about immigrants committing crimes, even though we know immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than the U.S.-born. They also talk about immigrants taking jobs from Americans. Immigrants create jobs as well as filling jobs. Particularly high-skilled immigrants create employment at higher rates than U.S.-born people. But this administration has really been emphasizing the downsides of immigration and not the upsides.
SUMMERS: The Trump administration has made the point, the argument, that they're doing this to end abuse of America's immigration system. What do you make of that assertion by the Trump administration and the State Department?
GELATT: It's certainly important for the United States to make sure it's not letting in people who could cause harm or hurt our national interests. At the same time, we already heavily vet immigrants coming to the United States. They're checked against all kinds of databases. And all permanent immigrants to United States undergo an in-person interview to make sure that people are eligible for the visas that they're getting and that they don't have anything in their history that would bar them from coming to the United States.
SUMMERS: One of the most sought-after visas that so many people from around the world apply for is, of course, the diversity visa, and that visa is based on a lottery system. And the Trump administration decided to indefinitely suspend the program. Help us understand, for people who aren't familiar, what was special about this category of visa?
GELATT: Yeah, the diversity visa was created to allow room for immigration from countries that have been sending small numbers of immigrants to the United States. The diversity visa makes sure that there's a chance for hopeful people from all around the world to dream of coming to the United States, to put their name into a lottery. And if they win, which is - only a tiny, tiny share do win, they're able to come to the United States as a permanent immigrant and start their lives here. It sort of has a very goodwill aspect to it, and losing that, you know, I think, has a symbolic meaning more so than an impact on sort of immigration levels overall.
SUMMERS: There are also H-1B visas, which are given to people with specialty occupations. Have there been recent changes to that program?
GELATT: There have been. So there's a new $100,000 fee that's attached to H-1B visas for people who are currently outside of the United States. That alone is going to be a big deterrent for employers using the program. There have also been changes to how the H-1B lottery is run, to now prioritize people who have higher incomes within their occupation. So basically, the H-1B would become a visa for people who are further along in their careers.
SUMMERS: And last thing, Julia, what will you be watching when it comes to immigration policy moving forward?
GELATT: Given all of the changes that we've seen so far, I think it's going to be really important to watch how our total level of legal immigration changes. We've seen a shrinking of our government capacity just to process visas and get people into our immigration system. And so we'll see how much they're able to shrink our levels of immigration even within the current laws that they're working within and how much immigration just continues as normal. There's a lot of inertia and a lot of people who have been waiting long periods to come to the United States and will try their best to still be able to come.
SUMMERS: Julia Gelatt, with the Migration Policy Institute, thank you so much.
GELATT: Thank you.
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