Trump Immigration Curbs Shrink US Workforce by 1 Million

The Economist

Targeting registered status holders and throttling legal visas inflicts lasting damage on American competitiveness by driving away foreign talent.

AI-assisted summary of How Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is making America weaker | The Economist — original source. Check the original for full context.

Source published: 2026-08-29

Key ideas

Federal immigration enforcement has pivoted from the southern border to the interior, logging a record 50,000 domestic arrests in July and flying deportees to destinations as far as Liberia and South Sudan. (0:00)
By revoking Temporary Protected Status for groups like Haitians and Afghans, the administration used preexisting federal registration databases as an operational shortcut for removals, bypassing the high costs of locating undocumented residents. (1:58)
Legal immigration channels face unprecedented administrative friction, highlighted by a 29% drop in foreign student visa issuances and H-1B visa compliance costs exceeding $100,000 per applicant. (4:24)
The sweeping crackdown has contributed to a contraction of the United States labor force by roughly 1 million workers since January, eroding future tax bases and long-term economic competitiveness. (7:01)

Detailed notes

## Background Published on YouTube by The Economist on August 29, 2026, this video examines Donald Trump's intensified immigration crackdown following the public fallout from federal agents killing Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Deputy editor Edward Carr and a panel of senior editors analyze how the administration's revamped deportation apparatus has become quieter yet far more aggressive and damaging to the country.

## TL;DR The panel details how federal enforcement pivoted away from the southern border to aggressive interior deportations, utilizing the revocation of Temporary Protected Status to easily locate and round up long-term residents. Concurrently, the administration has throttled legal migration, driving a 29% collapse in international student visas and raising skilled H-1B compliance costs beyond $100,000. These restrictions have triggered an estimated workforce contraction of 1 million people while implementing visa freezes on roughly 75 disparaged nations and carving out exceptions for white South African refugees. The editors conclude that this ideologically motivated crackdown infringes on American civil liberties—effectively restricting who citizens can marry—while severely eroding the nation's global reputation and competitive edge.

## Atmosphere & style The discussion carries a measured, somber, and cerebral tone characteristic of The Economist's editorial roundtables, balancing dry bureaucratic analysis with deep moral and historical concern. The speakers exchange sharp, restrained observations that steadily construct a damning picture of state overreach, contrasting procedural details like visa compliance costs against poignant human disruptions. The experience feels like a coolheaded yet chilling post-mortem of how sweeping administrative actions can quietly unravel long-standing liberties and global goodwill.

## Bulletin - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=0s) Federal immigration enforcement has pivoted from the southern border to the interior, logging a record 50,000 domestic arrests in July and flying deportees to destinations as far as Liberia and South Sudan. - [01:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=118s) By revoking Temporary Protected Status for groups like Haitians and Afghans, the administration used preexisting federal registration databases as an operational shortcut for removals, bypassing the high costs of locating undocumented residents. - [04:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=264s) Legal immigration channels face unprecedented administrative friction, highlighted by a 29% drop in foreign student visa issuances and H-1B visa compliance costs exceeding $100,000 per applicant. - [07:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=421s) The sweeping crackdown has contributed to a contraction of the United States labor force by roughly 1 million workers since January, eroding future tax bases and long-term economic competitiveness.

## Key takeaways - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=0s) Enforcement operations have shifted almost entirely into the US interior, frequently targeting individuals who have resided in the country for years without criminal records. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=0s) Interior immigration arrests reached a record high of approximately 50,000 in July alone, facilitated by Department of Justice immigration court deportation orders. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=0s) Federal removal logistics have expanded globally, sending deportees on long-distance flights to distant destinations such as Liberia and South Sudan. - [01:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=118s) The systematic revocation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) stripped legal authorization from long-term residents like Haitians and Afghans overnight. - [01:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=118s) Targeting registered TPS holders allows authorities to execute removals cheaply and rapidly, avoiding the estimated $17,000-per-person cost of tracking undocumented immigrants. - [01:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=118s) Panellists note that earlier administrations bear responsibility for using executive TPS orders to bypass congressional gridlock, offering vulnerable migrants vulnerable, temporary status instead of statutory permanence. - [04:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=264s) Administrative bottlenecks and tightened qualification criteria have systematically suppressed legal migration pathways without public or electoral mandates. - [04:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=264s) International higher education has seen a severe contraction, with new student visas dropping by 29% and graduates facing a 30-day ultimatum to secure employment or face deportation. - [04:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=264s) Corporate hiring of global high-skilled talent has been constrained by H-1B filing and compliance expenses that now surpass $100,000 per worker. - [07:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=421s) The sudden 1-million-person contraction in the American workforce reverses decades of growth, threatening industries reliant on immigrant labor and burdening the remaining tax base. - [07:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=421s) Refugee admissions policy reflects overt ideological skewing, offering preferential access to white South Africans over populations fleeing severe destitution. - [07:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=421s) Blanket immigrant visa bans covering around 75 countries—and procedural pauses at embassies—have disrupted legal family reunification for American citizens married to foreign nationals. - [09:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=555s) Restrictions determining which foreign spouses American citizens can reside with in the US evoke pre-1967 legal barriers against mixed-race marriages, representing an infringement on personal liberty. - [09:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=555s) The perception that US immigration mandates border on overt racial hostility damages America's global standing and drives mobile, high-skilled talent to seek opportunities elsewhere.

## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=0s) The Shift from Border Enforcement to the Interior

A year and a half after Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office, the nature of his immigration crackdown has undergone a fundamental transformation. While earlier years were dominated by what even political moderates considered an out-of-control crisis of crossings at the southern border, the border itself has since become remarkably quiet. Consequently, federal enforcement has shifted almost entirely into the interior of the United States. Rather than apprehending people at crossing points, agents are conducting arrests and deportations in the heart of the country, frequently targeting individuals who have lived in America for many years and who hold no criminal record. This marks a sharp philosophical and operational contrast to the previous peak deportation era under Barack Obama, which focused heavily on recent border arrivals and individuals with criminal convictions.

While the Department of Homeland Security claims to have deported roughly 1 million individuals—a figure that cannot be independently confirmed due to an absence of verifiable reporting—arrest data illustrates an aggressive surge. In July alone, arrests reached a record high of approximately 50,000 individuals, driven by deportation orders issued through Department of Justice immigration courts. In a dramatic logistical shift, deportees are being flown to nations as distant as Liberia and South Sudan. The scale of this enforcement drive continues to expand behind the scenes, operating largely outside the public spotlight and avoiding the dramatic, camera-captured scenes that erupted earlier in the year when federal agents killed Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

- In July alone, interior immigration arrests hit a record of approximately 50,000. - DHS claims roughly 1 million deportations, though reliable public data to substantiate that specific milestone remains unavailable. - Long-distance removals now route people to distant locations, including Liberia and South Sudan.

---

[01:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=118s) The Politics and Mechanics of Revoking Temporary Protected Status

The administration has heavily targeted humanitarian programs that had shielded specific immigrant nationalities from removal, most notably Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Over the summer, protections were systematically stripped from nationalities like Haitians and Afghans—people residing in the United States because their home countries were deemed too hazardous to return to, many of whom have lived, worked, and built families in America for decades.

A panel debate highlights the tension between strict legal technicalities and basic human reality. While a temporary status is not permanent by definition, and a sitting president has the legal authority to revoke executive policies created by predecessors, doing so after 20 to 25 years inflicts intense disruption. Some panellists argue that previous administrations bear part of the blame for using temporary status as a fiat workaround to bypass congressional gridlock over statutory refugee quotas, thereby granting vulnerable migrants the false hope of permanent life in the United States.

Operationally, revoking TPS provides the Trump administration with an easy logistical shortcut. Apprehending undocumented migrants who crossed covertly decades ago is painstaking, requiring investigative work and costing around $17,000 per person to execute a deportation. By contrast, individuals on TPS are fully registered with the government. Federal authorities already have their names, current addresses, and documentation. Stripping their legal authorization creates an immediate, easily tracked pool of targets for removal. As one speaker summarizes, rather than locating people who were already residing in the shadows, the administration simply made previously lawful residents illegal overnight so they could be rounded up.

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Operational shift in deportation strategy accDescr: Diagram contrasting the high cost of locating undocumented immigrants in the interior with the low-cost enforcement against revoked TPS holders.

subgraph InteriorSearch["Traditional Undocumented Removals"] A["Undocumented Resident"] --> B["Names and addresses unknown"] B --> C["Slow, complex investigations"] C --> D["High cost: ~$17,000 per person"] end

subgraph TPSRevocation["Revoking Temporary Protected Status"] E["Registered TPS Holder"] --> F["Executive order revokes status"] F --> G["Government holds complete files and addresses"] G --> H["Immediate arrest and deportation"] end ```

---

[04:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=264s) The Systematic Squeeze on Legal Migration and Higher Education

While irregular crossings at the southern border were halted by denying asylum requests entirely—an outcome Trump promised and achieved—the administration simultaneously moved against legal migration. By slow-walking visa reviews, revising qualifying criteria, and raising administrative hurdles across every major category, the administration implemented an aggressive crackdown that neither voters demanded nor public opinion polls supported.

These bureaucratic barriers fall heavily on international higher education and the skilled workforce, domains where American dynamism has long relied on global talent:

- **Student visas:** New student visa issuances dropped by 29% in the past year, according to Brookings Institution estimates. - **Strict student constraints:** New mandates demand that foreign students complete degree programs faster than average American undergraduates and secure employment within 30 days of graduation or face deportation. - **H-1B work visas:** Filing and compliance costs for skilled H-1B visas have surged past $100,000 per applicant.

This approach treats the arrival of gifted scholars and ambitious foreign professionals as an issue that must be curbed. While shortages on construction sites cause obvious, immediate pain, throttling the inflow of talent inflicts insidious long-term damage on the economy's intellectual capital and competitive edge.

---

[07:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=421s) Economic Fall-out and Ideological Visa Restrictions

The broader economic consequences of this immigration crackdown have appeared swiftly. Since January, the United States labor force has shrunk by approximately 1 million people. This sudden contraction breaks decades of steady workforce expansion driven by population growth, starving individual industries of workers and placing future national debt obligations onto a smaller base of taxpayers. The 29% collapse in incoming international students signals an even deeper constriction of the nation's future reservoir of top-tier talent.

Beyond the numbers, the administration has cultivated an atmosphere of explicit hostility, skewing policy along overtly ideological and racial lines:

- **Refugee preferences:** The only substantial category of refugees welcomed into the United States has been white South Africans. As one panellist wryly observes, while this group may voice complaints regarding local crime, they are hardly the world's most destitute population, generally enjoying access to "swimming pools and servants." - **Blanket immigrant visa bans:** The administration halted immigrant visa processing for roughly 75 countries—nations Donald Trump previously disparaged. When a federal court ruled the policy illegal, officials responded by pausing all embassy visa processing under the pretext of conducting internal staff training, while drafting administrative workarounds.

This diplomatic stonewall creates acute, personal heartbreak for American citizens attempting to bring foreign spouses home, including cases where Americans married to Nigerian nationals find legal family reunification frozen by executive obstruction.

[09:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=555s) Restrictions on Marriage, Echoes of 1967, and the Global Talent Drain

The panel turns to the personal and societal repercussions of immigration restrictions that dictate who American citizens can bring into the country or live alongside. By creating categories of people—largely delineated along ethnic lines—whom Americans effectively cannot marry and reside with in the United States, the administration has revived dynamics reminiscent of the era prior to 1967, when the last laws prohibiting mixed-race marriages were finally struck down. The speakers characterize these measures not merely as standard border policy, but as "an extraordinary infringement of American liberty" that reverberates far beyond domestic borders.

The international perception of these orders is equally damaging to America's standing. Observers and potential immigrants across the globe who once viewed the United States as a welcoming, vibrant "melting pot" are now confronted with government mandates that appear just "one inch away from being overtly racist." For the world's most talented individuals, such hostility serves as a decisive deterrent. High-skilled immigrants have families, career alternatives, and global mobility; faced with an environment where their loved ones may be excluded or subjected to ethnic scrutiny, they will simply choose to take their talents elsewhere.

- **Historical resonance:** The policy effectively resurrects barriers resembling pre-1967 antimiscegenation restrictions by curbing who citizens can live with or marry based on origin and ethnicity. - **Erosion of the "melting pot" ideal:** Foreign observers increasingly view executive policies as fundamentally unwelcoming and bordering on overt racial discrimination. - **Loss of international competitiveness:** Highly qualified workers possess choices and will opt against moving to the United States if policies threaten their families' security and happiness.

## Notable quotes > [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=0s) federal enforcement has shifted almost entirely into the interior of the United States.

> [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=0s) deportees are being flown to nations as distant as Liberia and South Sudan.

> [01:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=118s) rather than locating people who were already residing in the shadows, the administration simply made previously lawful residents illegal overnight so they could be rounded up.

> [04:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=264s) New student visa issuances dropped by 29% in the past year, according to Brookings Institution estimates.

> [04:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=264s) Filing and compliance costs for skilled H-1B visas have surged past $100,000 per applicant.

> [07:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=421s) Since January, the United States labor force has shrunk by approximately 1 million people.

> [07:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=421s) swimming pools and servants

> [09:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=555s) an extraordinary infringement of American liberty

> [09:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=555s) one inch away from being overtly racist

> [09:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw&t=555s) For the world's most talented individuals, such hostility serves as a decisive deterrent.

## Mentioned Donald Trump, Renée Good, Alex Pretti, Edward Carr, The Economist, Barack Obama, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Temporary Protected Status, Brookings Institution, H-1B visa, Minneapolis, Liberia, South Sudan, Nigeria

## Video description Americans were horrified when federal immigration agents killed Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis earlier this year. Donald Trump responded by firing his border-patrol head and homeland-security adviser. Their replacements have sought to keep his mass-deportation drive out of the headlines, but behind the scenes it has grown more effective than ever.

Edward Carr, The Economist’s deputy editor, joins a panel of our top editors to examine President Trump’s latest immigration crackdown and how it's changing America.

#Trump #US #USA #America #ICE

00:00 - How Donald Trump has stopped illegal migration 01:58 - The removal of temporary protected status 04:24 - What’s happening to legal migration? 07:01 - The impact of Trump’s crackdown on America

Watch the full show: http://bit.ly/4i0r6pA Sign up to the Insider newsletter: https://econ.st/4nOyzIb

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[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phdQ32Go9Iw)

中文简报

特朗普移民限制令美国劳动力缩减100万针对已登记身份持有者并扼制合法签证的做法赶走了外国人才，对美国竞争力造成持久损害。讨论小组详细阐述了联邦执法如何从南部边境转向激进的境内驱逐，利用撤销临时保护身份的做法来轻易定位并抓捕长期居民。与此同时，政府扼制合法移民，导致国际学生签证数量暴跌29%，并将技术类H-1B签证的合规成本推高至10万美元以上。这些限制措施已引发估计达100万人的劳动力萎缩，同时对约75个受贬低的国家实施签证冻结，却为南非白人难民设立例外豁免。编辑们总结认为，这场受意识形态驱动的严打侵犯了美国公民自由——实际上限制了公民的结婚对象——同时严重侵蚀了国家的全球声誉与竞争优势。联邦移民执法已从南部边境转向境内，7月份创下5万起国内逮捕纪录，并将被驱逐者空运至远达利比里亚和南苏丹的目的地。 (0:00) 通过撤销海地人和阿富汗人等群体的临时保护身份，政府利用现有的联邦登记数据库作为驱逐行动的操作捷径，绕过了定位无证居民的高昂成本。 (1:58) 合法移民渠道面临前所未有的行政阻碍，突出表现在外国学生签证发放量下降29%，以及每名申请人的H-1B签证合规成本超过10万美元。 (4:24) 自1月以来，这场全面严打促使美国劳动力缩减了约100万名工人，侵蚀了未来的税基和长期经济竞争力。 (7:01)

Reading summary

Panelists on The Economist argue that Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has pivoted from southern border enforcement toward aggressive interior removals and administrative curbs on legal migration, weakening the United States' economy, universities, and international standing. Interior Enforcement and TPS Revocations (0:00) Following a sharp decline in southern border crossings, federal immigration enforcement has relocated almost entirely to the interior of the United States. Federal agents increasingly target long-term residents who have lived in the country for years without criminal records, departing from the prior focus during the Obama administration on recent border arrivals and individuals with criminal convictions. In July alone, interior arrests reached a record peak of roughly 50,000 individuals, and deportees have been transported to destinations as distant as Liberia and South Sudan. While the Department of Homeland Security claims roughly 1 million deportations, reliable public data to substantiate that specific figure remains unavailable. To bypass the high investigative costs of locating undocumented residents—estimated at around $17,000 per person—the administration systematically stripped Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from nationalities such as Haitians and Afghans. Because TPS recipients had registered their identities and home addresses with the federal government, terminating their legal protections instantly created an easily traceable pool of targets for arrest, causing severe disruption for families that had lived legally in the country for decades. Administrative Squeeze on Visas and Higher Education (4:24) Alongside interior enforcement, the administration has throttled legal migration by slow-walking visa reviews, tightening qualifying criteria, and multiplying administrative hurdles across major entry categories. According to Brookings Institution estimates, new international student visa issuances dropped by 29% in the past year. Foreign students now face strict mandates to finish degrees faster than average American undergraduates and must secure employment within 30 days of graduation or risk deportation. High-skilled employment pathways have faced similar barriers, with filing and compliance expenses for H-1B visas escalating beyond $100,000 per applicant. The panel notes that treating foreign scholars and technical specialists as a flow to be restrained starves the economy of vital intellectual capital, generating long-term structural harm beyond the immediate labor shortages observed in sectors like construction. Workforce Contraction and Domestic Economic Fallout (7:01) The economic ramifications of the crackdown have emerged rapidly. Since January, the United States labor force has shrunk by approximately 1 million people, breaking decades of population-driven workforce expansion. This contraction restricts labor across multiple industries and concentrates future national debt repayment obligations onto a smaller base of domestic taxpayers. Compounded by the 29% collapse in incoming international students, the reduction in available workers undermines America's talent pipeline. Panelists emphasize that these curbs on legal immigration were executed administratively without voter demand or backing in public opinion polls. Ideological Bans and Loss of Global Competitiveness (9:15) The administration's revised entry criteria have also taken on overt ideological and racial dimensions. Immigrant visa processing was suspended for approximately 75 previously disparaged nations, while white South Africans were the only substantial refugee group actively welcomed. When a federal court ruled the blanket visa halts illegal, authorities bypassed the judgment by pausing embassy processing globally under the pretext of conducting internal staff training, freezing legal family reunifications for American citizens married to foreign nationals, such as Nigerians. Panelists argue that creating ethnic barriers that prevent American citizens from living with foreign spouses revives dynamics not seen since before the 1967 abolition of antimiscegenation laws, characterizing the policy as an infringement on domestic liberty. Internationally, this perceived racial hostility damages the United States' historic melting-pot reputation, encouraging mobile high-skilled professionals to direct their talents toward more welcoming competitor nations. The source concludes that the administration's pivot from border security to interior removals and legal migration curbs inflicts self-directed damage on the United States, sacrificing long-term economic vigor and global influence to sustain an aggressive enforcement agenda.

Source quotes

[0:00] federal enforcement has shifted almost entirely into the interior of the United States. [0:00] deportees are being flown to nations as distant as Liberia and South Sudan. [1:58] rather than locating people who were already residing in the shadows, the administration simply made previously lawful residents illegal overnight so they could be rounded up. [4:24] New student visa issuances dropped by 29% in the past year, according to Brookings Institution estimates. [4:24] Filing and compliance costs for skilled H-1B visas have surged past $100,000 per applicant. [7:01] Since January, the United States labor force has shrunk by approximately 1 million people. [7:01] swimming pools and servants [9:15] an extraordinary infringement of American liberty [9:15] one inch away from being overtly racist [9:15] For the world's most talented individuals, such hostility serves as a decisive deterrent.

Original transcript

[0:00] One of the interesting things in the [0:01] past year and a half since Trump [0:04] returned to the Oval Office is that this [0:06] campaign has really evolved. There was [0:08] this huge crisis of people coming over [0:11] the border that got, I think, even [0:13] moderates would have said out of [0:14] control. But the enforcement that Donald [0:16] Trump has seen, in part because the [0:18] border is so quiet, is almost entirely [0:21] in the middle of the country. It's uh [0:23] deportations and arrests of people, some [0:27] of whom have been in America for a long [0:29] time. Their arrests and deportations [0:31] mostly of people who do not have a [0:33] criminal record, and that's in contrast [0:35] to the prior biggest deportation [0:38] campaign that existed under Barack [0:39] Obama. And so what we've seen recently, [0:42] again, the numbers that that DHS [0:45] provides, we can't confirm. They're not [0:47] giving statistics that are verifiable. [0:49] They claim to have deported about a [0:51] million people. It's probably fewer than [0:53] that, but we do know the number of [0:55] arrests. In July alone, it reached a [0:57] record of about 50,000 people. These are [1:00] orders from these courts, which are part [1:03] of the Department of Justice, to deport. [1:05] You see this huge spike in the chart [1:07] here. And where are these people going? [1:09] They are going to places such as [1:12] Liberia, to South Sudan. It's really [1:15] quite dramatic. The other big change [1:17] that we've seen, again, just this [1:18] summer, is there were policies that were [1:21] put in place [1:23] uh to offer protected status to certain [1:25] classes of of immigrants based on their [1:28] nationality, if they were from a country [1:31] uh that it to which it was deemed it [1:32] might be unsafe to return, such as [1:34] Haitians. So these are people who've [1:36] been living in America for decades. And [1:39] so across these different categories of [1:42] activity, you see this big ramping up [1:45] just in the past few months. And again, [1:47] it's the type of activity that may not [1:49] be uh generating video footage as the [1:53] deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretty [1:55] did, but it is on a very large scale. [1:58] >> I guess it's reasonable though, isn't [1:59] it? If if if there is [2:02] a category of temporary protected status [2:04] and some of these people have been [2:05] around for 25 years, it's very tough on [2:08] them, but if it's temporary, it [2:09] shouldn't be permanent, should it? [2:10] >> Well, you're talking about whether it's [2:11] legal. I mean, it is clearly legal for [2:13] something that was established by one [2:15] president to be revoked by the next one. [2:18] But, there's you know, it's a different [2:20] question to from if you were you could [2:21] you could argue and I'm sure Trump would [2:24] that previous presidents were wrong to [2:26] grant in effect, you know, [2:29] temporary refugee status by fiat to [2:31] these reasonably large numbers of [2:33] people. They were doing it because they [2:35] couldn't get Congress to agree on [2:37] increasing the the numbers of people [2:39] who'd be let into the normal refugee [2:40] programs. But, it's very different to [2:42] say, "Okay, they've been here for 20 [2:44] years. Let's [2:46] revoke that policy. Let's let's send [2:48] them back to countries they may barely [2:49] remember." Certainly in terms of, you [2:52] know, how brutal that is. But, one of [2:54] the reasons why it's happening is [2:56] precisely cuz of this dynamic we were [2:57] talking about earlier. You know, the [3:00] easiest way of pushing people out of the [3:03] country is to get them as soon as [3:05] they've arrived and kick them out. [3:06] Often, there's no there's no court [3:08] process. They just get pushed back over [3:09] the border. You see lots of that under [3:11] Barack Obama. [3:13] Once you stop people coming across the [3:15] border and you're looking for people, as [3:17] Charlotte says, inside the country, that [3:19] is difficult. That is time-consuming. [3:21] That's expensive. The people who snuck [3:23] across the border [3:24] um [3:25] by subterfuge many years ago, you don't [3:26] know their names. You don't know where [3:28] they are. It's really expensive. It's [3:30] costing like sort of $17,000 [3:32] per person to kick them out of the [3:33] country. [3:35] But, then they says, "There's another [3:36] category of people. There's people who [3:38] we know who they are because they're [3:40] registered as temporary protected. We [3:42] know what their names are. We know that [3:44] they all come from countries that Donald [3:46] Trump doesn't like, like Haiti, [3:48] Afghanistan. And so, you just suddenly [3:50] make them illegal. So, you're not you're [3:52] not deporting people who were previously [3:53] illegal, you're making people illegal [3:55] and then kicking them out of the [3:56] country. [3:56] >> Yeah, I understand that and I I [3:58] understand that is [3:58] >> It's just logistically much easier for [4:00] him to do. [4:01] >> and it's tough, but at the same time, I [4:03] think a certain amount of blame goes [4:05] towards Presidents Obama and Biden. I [4:08] mean, they were if they were using this [4:10] mechanism to get people into the country [4:13] under a temporary basis, which then [4:16] Trump says, "That's temporary, so we're [4:17] revoking it." Part part of the cruelty [4:19] is done by giving all of those people [4:21] the hope that they could basically [4:22] permanently remain in the US. [4:24] >> What we've been discussing thus far [4:26] mostly has been illegal or irregular [4:29] migration much of it across the southern [4:31] border. Donald Trump has managed to [4:33] bring that down to zero by basically [4:34] refusing all asylum requests and that is [4:37] I think you can give the administration [4:38] some credit for that. That's some [4:40] achievement. It's something they said [4:41] they'd do and they've managed to do it. [4:43] Now, there's a whole other thing, which [4:44] is what's been going on with legal [4:45] migration and there through basically [4:49] slow walking visa applications, changing [4:51] the criteria by which people can apply, [4:53] just making it very, very hard for [4:55] people to come, the Trump administration [4:58] has really clamped down. I mean, student [4:59] visas are a big area as well, has really [5:02] clamped down on legal migration and this [5:04] is not something I think they had a [5:05] clear mandate to do and this is not [5:07] something that the American public, if [5:09] you look at opinion polls, is asking [5:11] them to do. I mean, the detail of this [5:12] it gets really in the weeds, but on each [5:15] individual category of visa, they're [5:18] making it really, really hard for people [5:20] to come into the country now. [5:21] >> Give me a sense of the scale of this [5:22] Charlotte for those various groups. [5:24] >> Well, student visas as one example, you [5:27] know, America has historically been a [5:29] country whose universities attract the [5:31] best and brightest from around the [5:32] world. So, [5:33] there was a 29% decline in the issuance [5:36] of student visas last year. [5:38] That was according to an estimate from [5:39] the Brookings Institution. You also see [5:42] the administration clamping down as John [5:45] said on a variety of of issued [5:47] for people who are seeking to work here. [5:50] But H-1B visas now you have to spend [5:53] over $100,000 to apply. [5:55] And for students, you know, the rules [5:57] that they're introducing for students [5:59] such as you have to finish your [6:00] university degree in less time than the [6:03] average American student does. You have [6:05] to find a job within 30 days of [6:08] graduating or leave. You know, those are [6:10] big disincentives to students who are [6:12] seeking to come here. And you know, I I [6:14] watch this with some fascination because [6:16] it presumes that the arrival of talented [6:20] foreign students and talented [6:23] foreign workers is a problem to be [6:26] solved. I mean, this is one of America's [6:27] great gifts that it benefits that the [6:30] economy that its economy benefits from [6:32] this dynamism and influx of people with [6:35] great ideas who want to build their [6:37] careers here. So, the economic effects [6:40] of that, I think you don't see in the [6:43] short term in the way you do see you [6:45] know, the economic effects of not having [6:47] sufficient people on building sites as [6:49] an example. But that seems to be one of [6:51] the more insidious [6:53] problems that Trump is introducing into [6:55] the labor market that is entirely [6:57] avoidable and you know, I I think [6:59] certainly counter to America's [7:00] interests. [7:01] >> We've started to talk a little bit about [7:02] the implications because they kind of [7:04] leap out at you. But let's let's look at [7:05] them a bit more closely and starting [7:07] with the short-term ones, Robert. What's [7:10] showing up so far already in in [7:13] in what's happening? [7:13] >> Well, the labor force has shrunk down by [7:15] about a million people since January. [7:17] >> Which is an amazing number. [7:18] >> That's I mean, you know, good previously [7:20] it was just growing growing growing [7:21] because America was growing. That's [7:22] that's quite dramatic and that that has [7:24] the sort of all the obvious effects like [7:27] the specific companies don't have the [7:30] the labor that they want, that the [7:32] burden of the national debt is [7:34] sitting on fewer shoulders in the future [7:37] and and so forth. Um [7:39] but the the [7:41] you know, the killer number for me is [7:42] not that one. It's the one that [7:44] Charlotte mentioned earlier, the 29% [7:46] fewer students cuz that's the that is [7:48] the beginning of the constricting of the [7:52] future supply of top talent. [7:54] And also, the the overall atmosphere, [7:56] it's not just about obstructing them [7:59] directly, but if you have an atmosphere [8:02] where the government is making it plain [8:04] that it's quite hostile to large [8:06] categories of people. [8:08] Um and where it for example has a policy [8:11] at the moment and this is you know, when [8:13] when you look at the policies that it [8:14] really tells you something about the [8:15] thinking of the people. So, you know, [8:17] it's not just that the the only [8:19] category, substantial category of [8:21] refugees who are allowed in the country [8:22] at the moment is white South Africans [8:25] who, you know, if you're going to think [8:26] of a group, yes, they have complaints [8:28] about crime, but if you're going to [8:29] think of the most disadvantaged group in [8:31] the world, you'd probably pick one who [8:33] have fewer swimming pools and servants. [8:34] Um and then you've got this this order [8:37] saying 75 countries, roughly speaking, [8:40] the countries that Donald Trump doesn't [8:41] like that he would call [8:43] countries. Um [8:45] They've stopped processing [8:48] immigrant visas entirely for those [8:50] countries. Now, a court last week said [8:52] that that policy was illegal and they're [8:54] now stalling. They've said that they're [8:56] going to pause um all visa processing [8:59] for um training for the people in the [9:02] embassies and they'll try to think of a [9:03] work around as they have with previous [9:05] policies. But the the country you drill [9:07] down, okay? If you are an American [9:10] citizen [9:12] and you are married to a Nigerian, [9:15] you cannot live with her or him in [9:17] America, right? There's categories of [9:20] people largely ethnically chosen, you [9:23] are not allowed to marry. Now, that that [9:25] has echoes of something that disappeared [9:27] in 1967 when the last laws against um [9:31] mixed-race marriages were struck down in [9:32] America. That's an extraordinary [9:34] infringement of American liberty and [9:36] it's also something that people in the [9:37] rest of the world can see. And they say, [9:39] "Look, we're moving to this place. We [9:40] thought that it was this wonderful [9:42] melting pot that was welcoming, but they [9:45] have these laws that are just sort of 1 [9:48] in away or these orders that are 1 in [9:50] away from being overtly racist. Are we [9:52] going to be happy there?" And the most [9:53] talented people, you know, they have [9:55] choices and they have families.