This is Trump's policy on skilled work visa - Wall Street Journal

By NEWLEY PURNELL
Jan 24, 2017 4:27 pm IST
During his campaign, President Donald Trump assailed a skilled-worker visa program used to send foreigners to the U.S., and in his inaugural speech Friday he said the country would “follow two simple rules; buy American and hire American.”
Indian outsourcing firms are already preparing for potential changes to visa rules, which could present a challenge because they send thousands of workers to the U.S. every year via the H-1B program.
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So how much, and how quickly, could Mr. Trump change the regulations?

A significant shakeup would likely need to be approved by Congress, though there are some steps Mr. Trump could take himself immediately, analysts say.
There has been an uptick in proposed immigration bills of late. Policymakers from both sides of the aisle have likely been emboldened by Mr. Trump’s pledge to protect American workers.
“It is clear that there is growing momentum to change the H-1B and visa laws,” said Peter Bendor-Samuel, chief executive of Dallas, Texas-based technology management consulting firm Everest Group, which analyzes the outsourcing industry.
New laws would probably result in more robust restrictions targeting foreign firms like those in India’s $108 billion outsourcing industry, Mr. Bendor-Samuel said.
Last week, two prominent senators, Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley and Illinois Democrat Richard Durbin, said they planned to re-introduce a bill from 2007 that would require all employers seeking to hire workers on H-1B visas to make a “good faith effort” to hire Americans first.
Among other provisions, it would require that rather than H-1Bs being awarded in lotteries, the government would be required to prioritize the top foreign students who have studied in the U.S. These would include advanced degree holders, those earning a “high wage,” and those with “valuable skills.”

The bill’s planned reintroduction comes after Rep. Darrell Issa, one of the highest-profile Republicans in Congress and a supporter of Mr. Trump, said earlier this month he intends to reintroduce a bill clamping down on H-1Bs, though his appears more limited in scope that Sens. Grassley and Durbin’s.
Both bills would need to be passed by Congress and signed by Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump will also have scope to act independently.
Eric Ruark, director of research at Arlington, Va.-based NumbersUSA, which advocates for limited immigration, said Mr. Trump could use an executive directive to tighten the U.S.’s Optional Practical Training, or OPT, program.
The OPT program gives foreign graduates in fields like science, technology, engineering or math the right to find jobs in the U.S. for up to 36 months, depending on their degree subject.
Mr. Trump could roll the time limit back to the original 12 months, the threshold until it was expanded under President George W. Bush in 2008, and tighten the eligible fields of study.
In addition, Mr. Ruark said the president could end a provision announced under President Barack Obama in 2014 that allows spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in the U.S.

While the timing for any potential action remains unclear under Mr. Trump, Mr. Ruark said H-1B policies are an issue “we feel strongly will be addressed in his administration’s first year.”
Corrections and Amplifications
The OPT program allows graduates to find jobs in the U.S. for up to 36 months, depending on their degree subject. An earlier version of this article said the time limit was 29 months.

The wall shows Trump is totally ignorant of Mexico immigration - Huffington Post

President Donald Trump appears to think building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border will solve unauthorized immigration and other issues at the border. Stats from the last few years tell a completely different story. 

Trump signed two executive orders Wednesday that call for the immediate construction of a wall and issue directives to crack down on unauthorized immigration, increase security at the southern border and expand agencies’ deportation powers.

The order describes building the wall as a measure “to prevent illegal immigration, drug and human trafficking, and acts of terrorism.” Prioritizing a wall ― with an estimated cost in the billions ― has been widely condemned by Latino groups and lawmakers as a discriminatory attack on immigrants.

Building a wall to keep Mexicans out is also out of touch with the current realities of unauthorized immigration. Since the recession, more undocumented Mexican immigrants are actually leaving the country than entering it, according to the Pew Research Center.

And as the Mexican economy has improved, the number of people attempting to illegally cross into the U.S. from Mexico has dropped dramatically over the last 15 years, according to Quartz:

As of 2014, the majority of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. are from Mexico, according to Pew’s population estimates, but their numbers have been declining.  

At the same time, unauthorized immigration from other countries has risen, driven by people coming from Central America, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Pew notes that many of the people from those regions are entering the country legally and overstaying their visas ― something a wall won’t prevent.

On Wednesday, Trump claimed the wall would also help Mexico prevent unauthorized immigration from countries to its south. He addressed the “unprecedented surge of illegal migrants” from Central America, many of whom are families seeking asylum from violence in their countries. 

Central Americans outnumbered Mexican immigrants apprehended at the United States’ southern border in 2016. The total number of apprehensions increased last yearcompared to 2015, but was still lower than in 2014 or 2013. The apprehension figures give a sense of trends in the larger number of total illegal border crossings, according to U.S. Border Control.

Building a wall is impractical for other reasons. It won’t address actual enforcement needs, officials in Texas borderlands told HuffPost’s Roque Planas. U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) said a physical barrier isn’t an effective security measure for the area’s rough terrain and protected natural areas. Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, said the Rio Grande Valley area is heavily patrolled by authorities and that they’ve already “reached [their] maximum capacity in enforcement.”

What’s more, it’s not clear how the wall will be funded. Republican leaders said Thursday that Congress would front $12 billion or more for its construction, without clarifying if they’d offset the costs with other cuts. Trump has insisted Mexico will pay for the wall, but Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has repeatedly refused: He reiterated his stance on Wednesday.

Nieto was scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House next week, but said on Thursday that he was canceling. Nieto’s decision followed Wednesday reports that he was considering whether to keep the meeting. Trump lashed out on Twitter earlier Thursday, threatening to cancel as well, but Nieto pulled the trigger first.

During his presidential campaign, Trump frequently targeted immigrants and blamed them for American job losses, criminal activity and terrorism. He claimed Mexico was purposely sending “the bad ones” to the U.S., suggesting Mexican immigrants are criminals and rapists.