Asylum & Visas
H2A Visas (FYI)
https://prismreports.org/2023/04/14/h2a-visa-wage-theft-exploitation/
https://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/1380
https://nfwm.org/farm-workers/farm-worker-issues/modern-day-slavery/
https://www.propublica.org/article/h-2a-farmworker-visa-safety-suggestions-experts
2001
2001-01-01 Trump helped Melania Trump obtain an Einstein Visa to enter the United States. This type of Visa is generally reserved for individuals with extraordinary ability in science, art, education, business or athletics requiring sustained national or international acclaim.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43256318
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5370991-crockett-melania-einstein-visa-question/
2017
2017-02-13 The USCIS raised the threshold for credible fear during asylum interviews, resulting in a high rate of denials.
https://immigrantjustice.org/a-timeline-of-the-first-trump-administrations-efforts-to-end-asylum/
https://www.aila.org/library/uscis-executive-summary-of-changes-to-the-credible
2018
2018-01-01 Trump instituted a multitude of bans, including for asylum, transit, safe third-country arrangements, and return to Mexico - blocking all migrants from US protection.
2019
2019-06-30 A memo issued by the USCIS attempted to strip away certain protections for underage unaccompanied immigrants, impacting their ability to access their right to asylum
https://immigrantjustice.org/a-timeline-of-the-first-trump-administrations-efforts-to-end-asylum/
2025 January
2025-01-20 Trump rescinded Executive Order 14010 Creating a Comprehensive Regional Framework To Address the Causes of Migration, To Manage Migration Throughout North and Central America, and To Provide Safe and Orderly Processing of Asylum Seekers at the United States Border.
2025-01-20 Trump rescinded Executive Order 14012 Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans.
2025-01-20 Trump rescinded Executive Order 14013 Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs To Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration.
2025 February
2025-02-17 Kristi Noem created a public DHS video warning immigrants to “self deport now”.
2025 March
2025-03-25 The Trump administration revoked a Tuft student’s doctoral visa because she co-authored a pro-Palestinian newspaper article the year prior. Rumeysa Ozturk was detained by ICE for six weeks after writing an op-ed at her university. Courts ruled the detention illegal and she was released. The Trump administration’s DHS accused her of supporting Hamas without any evidence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T98wJrupDMA
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/07/detained-tufts-student-rumeysa-ozturk-ruling
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/26/ice-agents-detain-tufts-university-graduate-student
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rumeysa-ozturk-tufts-student-denied-bond/
2025-03-27 Marco Rubio announced that over 300 student visas were revoked by the State Department as a crackdown on campus activism, particularly pro-Palestinian. He stated, quote, “Every time I find one of these lunatics I take away their visa”.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/27/marco-rubio-student-visas-palestine-00005141
2025 April
2025-04-03 Tufts University confirmed that a second student’s visa was terminated without notification.
2025 June
2025-06-11 The DOJ issued a memorandum making it possible to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans.
https://www.justice.gov/civil/media/1404046/dl?inline
2025 September
2025-09-19 Trump signed an executive order imposing a $100K fee for H1B1 visas. This visa would normally allow highly skilled workers to enter the country’s tech industry; now it will only be accessible to those with wealth.
https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/h-1b-faq
2025 October
2025-10-15 News outlets reported that Trump allegedly considered overhauling the refugee program to favor white people. During a rally at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Pocono, Pennsylvania Trump lamented about the U.S. not receiving more immigrants from places like Norway or Sweden.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/us/politics/trump-refugee-white-people.html
https://www.newsweek.com/us-refugee-groups-sound-alarm-potential-trump-changes-10894034
2025 November
2025-11-06 The Trump administration gave Sudanese immigrants only 60 days to leave the US despite warnings from the UN of starvation and war escalations in the region.
2025-11-14 The Trump administration issued a new directive aimed at denying visas for foreigners based on medical conditions.
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/12/nx-s1-5606348/immigrants-visas-health-conditions-trump-guidance
2025-11-26 After an Afghan national shot two National Guard troops in DC, the Trump administration weaponized the tragedy. Kristi Noem suggested the suspect was radicalized in the U.S., and Trump used the shooting to ban Afghan asylum seekers from entering the country. For context, Operation Allies Welcome was a program set up to allow Afghans targeted by Taliban for working with U.S. forces to reach asylum, and many of them have waited 20 or more years to work through a rigorous vetting process to get here. By singling out Afghani immigrants, current Afghani residents of the U.S. reportedly fear for their safety. The Trump administration blamed Biden for the shooting even though the suspect was vetted during both the Biden and Trump administrations.
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/27/nx-s1-5622991/afghan-refugee-program-national-guard-shooting-suspect
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpwk2p0d94xo
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6385764249112
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/shooting-washington-dc-national-guard-11-26-25
2025 December
2025-12-09 During a rally at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Pocono, Pennsylvania, Trump went on a rant about why we only take immigrants from predominantly non-white countries and lamented that we don’t receive more immigrants from Norway, Sweden or Denmark. For context, most citizens of countries like Norway don’t enter the US because it would technically be a downgrade in standards for them, as they enjoy better social healthcare, earn more income while working fewer hours, are recorded to live longer, women enjoy their right and advocacy to their own health care choices, and things like medical coverage, retirement and paid leave aren’t tied up into employment. People who come from what Trump frequently refers to as “shit-hole” countries leave because powerful global leaders extract wealth and democracy from their countries in the first place.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/08/trump-immigration-north-europe
2025-12-16 The White House imposed a travel ban on 39 countries from Africa and Asia.
https://www.cfr.org/article/guide-countries-trumps-travel-ban-list