New data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) show legal immigration declined by almost 87,000, by more than 7%, between FY 2016 and FY 2018. “Excluding refugees means 122,412 fewer legal immigrants became lawful permanent residents in FY 2018 than in FY 2016, a decline of 11.5%,” according to a National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) analysis. Refugees approved in years prior to the Trump presidency were finally (and appropriately) counted as permanent residents in FY 2018, which obscures some of the reduction in immigration. Trump administration policies now blocked in court by lawsuits would lead to deeper reductions in immigration.
The number of legal immigrants admitted to the United States fell from 1,183,505 in FY 2016 to 1,096,611 in FY 2018, a drop of 86,894 or 7.3%, according to recently released administration data. Most of the decline can be traced to lower admissions in the Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens category, which includes the spouses, children and parents of Americans, concluded the NFAP analysis.
Overall, the Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens fell from 566,706 in FY 2016 to 478,961 in FY 2018, a decline of 87,745, or 15.5%. Between FY 2016 and FY 2018, the U.S. granted lawful permanent residence to 36,209 fewer spouses of U.S. citizens (down 11.9%), 21,700 fewer children of U.S. citizens (a 24.5% decline) and 29,836 fewer parents (a drop of 17.2%).
Immigration from South Korea fell by 18.9% between FY 2016 and FY 2018. The number of immigrants from Vietnam declined by 18.4% between FY 2016 and FY 2018. Compared to FY 2016, immigration was lower in FY 2018 from India (falling 7.5%), the Dominican Republic (dropping 6.1%) and the Philippines (down 11.3%).
Much of the decline for these countries can be attributed to lower admissions in the Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens category. “Between FY 2016 and FY 2018, the number of Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens admitted from Mexico fell by 14,002 (11.7%), the Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens from China dropped by 7,636, or 24.1%, while family members in that category declined by 17% from the Dominican Republic, 24.1% from the Philippines, 14.8% from India, and 17.3% from South Korea,” according to the National Foundation for American Policy. Immediate Relatives from Vietnam fell by 12.7%.
The spouses, children and unmarried sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents declined from 121,267 in FY 2016 to 109,841 in FY 2018, a drop of 11,426 or 9.4%.
The lower admission numbers for spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens may reflect processing delays as well as policy changes that would prevent individuals from obtaining permanent residence.
Several administration policies, including requiring in-person interviews for employment-based immigrants, have contributed to the processing delays, while a March 6, 2017, presidential directive on “heightened screening and vetting” may have led to both delays and visa denials.
The number of determinations of visa ineligibility based on 221(g) grounds (“Application does not comply with provisions of the INA [Immigration and Nationality Act] or regulations issued pursuant thereto”) increased for immigrants from 254,478 in FY 2017 to 341,128 in FY 2018, a rise of 34% or 86,650.
“It [221(g)] is most commonly used either when there is a request by the consular officer for further evidence, or when the consular officer puts the case into ‘administrative processing,’” according to Jeffrey Gorsky, senior counsel at Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP and former Chief of the Legal Advisory Opinion section of the Visa Office in the U.S. Department of State. Gorsky notes most such cases are eventually cleared. Still, the number is large and we do not know the outcome of many of these cases, particularly given directives to tighten admissions coming from the White House, note attorneys.
Administrative processing can include a variety of situations, including security clearances, and many cases won’t be cleared or approved in the same fiscal year, or may never be approved, said Gorsky in an interview.
The presidential proclamation issuing the travel ban against five majority-Muslim nations – Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, with certain restrictions added for Venezuela and North Korea – reduced immigration from those five countries by 18,595 (or 64.7%) between FY 2016 and FY 2018 (excluding refugees and asylees approved in earlier years).
The number of legal immigrants (excluding refugees and asylees) admitted from Yemen declined from 12,906 in FY 2016 to 1,661 in FY 2018, while legal immigration from Iran dropped from 10,187 in FY 2016 to 5,675 in FY 2018. “The White House is considering dramatically expanding its much-litigated travel ban to additional countries amid a renewed election-year focus on immigration by President Donald Trump,” reported the Associated Press.
Two administration policies could reduce legal immigration by potentially hundreds of thousands of people per year. On October 4, 2019, a presidential proclamation used Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to bar new immigrants from entering the United States without health insurance. Similarly, the administration issued a rule on Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds that could block hundreds of thousands of immigrants who consular officers or adjudicators predict may use certain public benefits within a 12-month period in the future. Judges have halted both measures, at least temporarily. If either one goes into effect, it could lead to a significant and potentially permanent reduction in the flow of legal immigrants to the United States.
Observers note that Trump administration efforts to reduce immigration could fill a book. The administration abandoned attempts to convince the House and Senate to reduce legal immigration via the traditional route of passing a new law after Congress rejected bills the White House either designed or supported. Given the failed efforts in Congress, lowering the number of legal immigrants by executive, regulatory and administrative means has become more important within the administration.
The latest statistics show efforts by administration officials to reduce legal immigration have, from their perspective, started to bear fruit. Favorable court rulings and another four years in power would mean even lower levels of legal immigration to the United States and fewer U.S. citizens allowed to have their spouses, parents and children come live with them in America.
Among the countries with noticeably lower immigration numbers are Mexico, China, Vietnam and South Korea. Immigration from Mexico declined from 174,534 in FY 2016 to 161,858 in FY 2018, a drop of 7.3%. The number of immigrants from China went from 81,772 in FY 2016 to 65,214 in FY 2018, a decrease of more than 20%.
For more information contact us at:
No comments:
Post a Comment