[Text/Observer Network Yang Rong] U.S. President-elect Trump vowed to "crack down hard" on illegal immigration after taking office, and even appointed hardliners to be in charge of border affairs, causing controversy. The British Financial Times reported on November 18 that U.S.

[Text/Observer Network Yang Rong]

U.S. President-elect Trump vowed to "crack down hard" on illegal immigration after taking office, and even appointed hardliners to be in charge of border affairs, causing controversy. The British Financial Times reported on November 18 that U.S. companies warned that Trump’s plan to expel millions of undocumented workers could cause a massive labor shortage in the United States, leading to the closure of restaurants and farms and rising prices.

There is no definite answer to how many illegal immigrants there are in the United States. The Center for Immigration Studies (CMS), a New York think tank dedicated to promoting inclusive immigration policies, estimated that there were 11.7 million undocumented people in the United States last year. The liberal Center for American Progress (CAP) estimates the population at 11.3 million, of which 7 million are working. The nonpartisan Pew Research Center puts the number of illegal immigrants at nearly 8 million.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in 2023, 18.6% of the U.S. workforce was not born in the United States. However, the data does not track the nationality or citizenship status of the population in question.

Trump, who was elected earlier this month, promised to implement "the largest deportation program in American history" as soon as he takes office. His nominee "Border Czar" Tom Homan, the former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, pursues a tough immigration stance and once supported his "zero tolerance" policy on illegal immigration, which resulted in a large number of illegal immigrants being forcibly separated from their children.

On June 4, 2024 local time, in Tijuana, Mexico, farm workers passed through a port on the US-Mexico border. Visual China

Homan said that he plans to first deport illegal immigrants with criminal records. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, a Trump ally, told a media event last week that while he did not expect immigration authorities to go door-to-door for mass deportations, "occasionally" there might be There are “raids” targeting companies that employ undocumented workers.

However, U.S. businesses are worried that strengthening enforcement of illegal immigration will affect the U.S. labor supply. Amy Peck, an immigration lawyer at Jackson Lewis LLP, said food producers, manufacturers and hotels are hiring lawyers to review their employees' legal status and train employees on how to deal with questions from government immigration staff. A surprise visit.

And this may further push up the high prices in the United States. "Are people worried about food prices now?" Peck quipped, "Wait until (food manufacturers) can't find workers and then worry about it."

Others worry that the new government's hardline stance may also lead to a tightening of legal immigration channels , creating a labor gap that cannot be filled by American citizens. Jim Bair, CEO of the American Apple Association, a trade group for fruit growers, said the U.S. agricultural community relies entirely on the H-2A temporary visa to recruit workers during busy farming periods. "Very few U.S. citizens come to work, and even if they do, they quit at the end of the first day because the work is too hard."

In Maine, near the U.S.-Canada border, dairy farmers at Flood Brothers Farm For jenni tilton-flood, the outlook isn't promising. She said two-thirds of the farm's workers are foreign-born and are easily targeted by immigration authorities. "Everyone is worried and panicked," she said.

In 2013, workers picked strawberries on a farm in California. The Associated Press

report analyzed that once the government strengthens law enforcement and deports illegal immigrants, the U.S. catering and hotel industries will bear the brunt. Research by the National Restaurant Association (nra) found that 54% of restaurant workers in the United States are undocumented. Sam Sanchez, an NRA board member and owner of Chicago-based restaurant group Third Coast Hospitality, said he fears half of U.S. restaurants would be forced to close without undocumented workers.

Also likely to suffer a huge impact is the health care industry. The report pointed out that the United States has been facing a shortage of nursing staff since the COVID-19 epidemic.

American Healthcare REIT CEO Danny Prosky told investors last week that the labor shortage is the "biggest pressure point" for the business."I would say if we started limiting the number of employees in the country, it might not be a good thing for our business."

CEO of Cambridge Caregivers, a Dallas, Texas-based care services company with 300 caregivers About 80 percent of them are foreign-born, Adam Lampert said. Without this workforce, he said, Americans' health care costs would skyrocket.

"I think it is clear that there will be a 'bloodletting' (bloodletting, originally meaning bloodletting, also used as a metaphor for experiencing large losses in resources and economy) in January next year." Lampert said.

Some American business people have called on the government to simplify immigration procedures and expand legal immigration channels. “We need to provide a clear path to citizenship for undocumented workers — who, by the way, have been working, paying taxes, and contributing to our economy for decades — so that they can continue to contribute, without fear of harassment or deportation," Lampert said.

Lampert also hopes that after Trump takes office in January next year, the "voices of reason" in the government will heed the warnings of the industry. "I believe... the rational voices in the government will eventually prevail, because there are economists there." Sanchez also said that he believes that "Trump, who is also a business owner, will realize this."

According to reports from the US media in recent days, the Trump team is preparing for the strict border measures that will be implemented after taking office. Unlike his first term, which focused on building a border wall, Trump's second term will focus on dealing with illegal immigration in the United States.

CNN quoted people familiar with the matter as saying on the 16th that in order to avoid the previous situation where the federal government had to release illegal immigrants due to limited resources, Trump plans to expand illegal immigration detention facilities and force detention through executive orders. Illegal immigration. In addition, he also plans to restore immigration policies during his first term such as "Remain in Mexico" and revoke the Biden administration's humanitarian parole policy. "Remain in Mexico" requires migrants seeking U.S. asylum to stay in Mexican border cities while they await hearings in U.S. courts that will hear their asylum claims.

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