The Trump administration is considering a plan to weed out would-be immigrants who are likely to require public assistance, as well as to deport immigrants already living in the U. S. who depend on taxpayer help, reports the Washington Post. Also under consideration is a substantial shake-up in the system through which the U.S. administers immigrant and non-immigrant visas, with the aim of tightly controlling who enters the country and who can enter the workforce, and reducing the social services burden on taxpayers.
Draft executive orders are circulating among administration officials, and it is unclear whether President Trump has decided to move forward with them. If enacted, the orders would appear to significantly restrict all types of immigration and foreign travel to the U.S., expanding bars on entry to the country that Trump ordered last week. While last week’s move focused on national security and preventing terrorism, the new draft orders would be focused on Trump’s promises to protect American workers and to create jobs, immediately restricting the flow of immigrants and temporary laborers into the U.S. workforce. The administration has accused immigrants who end up receiving U.S. social services of eating up federal resources, and it has said that immigrant workers contribute to unemployment among workers who are U.S. citizens. The draft order provides no evidence to support the claim that immigrant households are more likely to use welfare benefits, and there is no consensus among experts about immigration’s impact on such benefits or on U.S. jobs.