US President Donald Trump’s plans to curb immigration by reducing the inflow of undocumented foreigners and deporting those already in the country have broad public support, particularly within his Republican Party. When it comes to restricting work visas for highly-skilled foreigners, a goal Trump pursued in his first presidency from 2017 to 2021, those in his inner circle are sharply divided. And Trump himself has indicated he’s changed his view on the H-1B visa program designed to allow US companies to hire highly educated foreign workers with knowledge in specialized fields.
Introduced in 1990, the H-1B visa program is one of a series of US immigration initiatives created during the 20th century to address specific labor shortages. Others facilitated the employment of temporary farm workers from Mexico during World War II, sheepherders mainly from Spain in the 1950s and nurses, many of whom came from the Philippines, in the 1990s. Today, employers can apply to bring in foreigners to fill temporary agricultural jobs under the H-2A program and workers for other kinds of temporary jobs, including seasonal work, under the H-2B program.