On January 8, 2018, local time in the United States, the U.S. canceled the Temporary Protected Status for Salvadoran citizens, affecting 200,000 immigrants who now face deportation. Salvadorans have been living legally in the United States for nearly twenty years, and now they must confront the possibility of being expelled or finding another legal way to remain. The image shows protesters gathering and marching in front of Congress, calling for Congress to assist Salvadorans and others with temporary protected status.
The U.S. President has been working to fulfill his campaign promise of "strengthening immigration control" and has signed several executive orders related to tough immigration policies, including "improving border security and immigration enforcement," "enhancing public safety," and "preventing foreign terrorists from entering the United States." As the new year begins, actions to strengthen the crackdown on illegal immigration have quietly commenced.
In the executive order signed by Trump in April 2017 titled "Buy American and Hire American," it was explicitly stated to "eliminate the H-1B lottery system." On immigration issues, Trump has consistently aligned his words and actions from campaigning to governing. At the start of the new year, in response to the Trump administration's slogan of "Buy American, Hire American," the Trump administration has introduced new measures against immigration: it will no longer allow individuals holding H-1B visas for more than six years, who have already filed for a green card (submitted Form I-140) and are waiting for their priority date, to remain in the United States to continue working.
On January 11, local time in the United States, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) tweeted three messages stating that it is advancing reforms to the EB-5 regulations. The content of these three tweets is as follows:
1. The EB-5 visa provides legal permanent residency for foreign nationals who promote economic development in the United States. We are revising this program.
2. Our proposed regulations will increase the investment amount and curb the abuse of Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs), ensuring that EB-5 truly helps high-unemployment areas.
3. Learn about our 19 priority regulatory reform initiatives for 2018—including EB-5 reform.
Last October, the newly appointed USCIS Director Lee Francis Cissna stated: "If confirmed as USCIS Director, I pledge to complete the EB-5 regulatory reform." Although the USCIS, as a government agency, does not have legislative power, it has the authority to change administrative regulations based on legal authorization. The discussion about raising the entry threshold for EB-5 policy has been ongoing, and according to Trump's style of governance, it is likely that a real price increase will be implemented soon, along with regulations on the practices of regional centers. This series of proposals indicates that soon, obtaining a green card will become increasingly difficult!