London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

There's A White House Clash Over Whether To Extend Freeze On Many Work Visas

There's A White House Clash Over Whether To Extend Freeze On Many Work Visas

In June, President Trump halted various temporary work visas, including H-1B, L-1 and certain J-1 visas. Advocates for an extension say it would tie the hands of President-elect Joe Biden.

A clash has broken out between factions at the White House over whether to extend an expiring freeze on various temporary work visas, including those used by foreign high-tech workers and by au pairs, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.

The measure, which President Trump signed earlier in 2020, is due to expire at the end of the year, on Thursday.

The business community has pushed to lift the six-month moratorium, arguing it threatens America's economic interests, while proponents for an extension say the conditions created by the pandemic that warranted the suspension still exist.

Advocates for an extension also argue it would tie the hands of President-elect Joe Biden, who would need to weigh the political implications of lifting the moratorium next year when many U.S. workers will likely remain jobless because of the pandemic.

The White House declined to comment, and the Biden transition did not immediately respond to questions. The two sources familiar with the debate sought anonymity to detail internal White House deliberations.

Trump signed a proclamation in June suspending entry to non-U.S. citizens who "present a risk to the U.S. labor market following the coronavirus outbreak."
Among those are holders of high-skilled H-1B visas, used in the tech industry, as well as executive L-1 visas and certain J-1 visas used by au pairs. The measure was aimed at applicants for new visas.

The proclamation was actually an extension of Trump's earlier "Buy American, Hire American" executive order, which called for federal agencies to take stronger action to enforce immigration laws to protect U.S. workers.

But the signing in June not only put foreign workers' plans on hold, it also left thousands of American parents expecting the help of an au pair scrambling for child care. The ban came at a particularly difficult time as the demand for child care exploded when schools and day cares shut down because of the pandemic.

Ahead of the moratorium's expiration, advocate groups on both sides of the issue have exerted strong pressure on the White House.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers sued the Trump administration, charging that the rules would "devastate companies across various industries" if allowed to stand.

"Banning critical and skilled workers from entering the country was a mistake, and it disrupted manufacturers' fight against COVID-19 at exactly the wrong time," NAM's general counsel, Linda Kelly, told NPR in a statement Wednesday. "Manufacturers' legal case halted the ban and ensured we could continue leading our pandemic response and economic recovery. Any effort to extend this misguided and unlawful policy would only hamper recovery efforts and undermine innovation at this consequential moment in our nation's history."

In October, a judge blocked the Trump administration's ban on many foreign worker visas, but the ruling only applied to the companies represented by the business groups involved in the case.

Advocates who favor tighter immigration restrictions argue the public health and economic crisis created by the pandemic is still the same as it was six months ago.

Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, wrote a letter this week urging Trump to extend the measures well into 2021, noting it would leave Biden with a tough policy and political decision.

"If Joe Biden does end up entering the Oval Office and quickly rescinds this Proclamation, he will have to answer to the American people and tell them why he decided to increase immigration and restore unfettered access to guest workers in the midst of the greatest economic crisis in living memory," Stein wrote in the letter that has also been circulated around Capitol Hill.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×