AUSTIN, Minn. — On Wednesday, President Donald Trump issued a new executive order temporarily suspending some immigration into the U.S.
"This rule only applies to those who are in line processing for permanent residency to come to the United States who are abroad," said Austin-based immigration lawyer Robert Loughran. "It does not impact those who are here waiting to get green cards in the United States, which are a lot more people than those coming from abroad."
At the same time, Loughran said Wednesday's announcement left him with dozens of cases where Americans had to postpone moving their spouses to the U.S. because their green card applications have been put on hold. Loughran said thousands will be affected.
"They have sold their possessions and gotten ready to move to the United States," said Loughran. "In many cases, they've certainly been planning for this for years if not decades."
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President Trump said the order will ensure that Americans are first in line for jobs and will preserve our health care resources as the country reopens. According to the Pew Research Center, more than 1 million immigrants come to the U.S. every year and 11% of them settle in Texas. Loughran said he is concerned about the long-term effects of temporarily barring some immigration.
"We know from having studied this for decades that immigrants bring trillions of dollars of impact, and they literally bring billions of dollars physically with them to the United States," said Loughran. "We also know that for every immigrant who comes over in this type of situation, they create multiple U.S. jobs, particularly the investors, particularly the business owners, but also your scientists and your teachers and your nurses, all of those."
The executive order was put into place for 60 days but can be extended and amended, so Loughran advises employers with temporary workers to act fast.
"If your employees are within six months of the expiration of their status, it's time to file now before the rules change, because the rules are almost certain to change because that's what the president has proclaimed," he said.
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