Many aspects of President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration policy plans are still unclear, but experts say changes to the H-1B and EB-5 visa programs could be on the docket, and Congress may end up wrestling with border security and enforcement measures. Here, Law360 runs down some of the top immigration policy issues that could make an appearance in 2017.
Border Security and Mandatory E-Verify
One of Trump’s main campaign promises was building a wall along the southern border, although the president-elect has already begun walking back some of that rhetoric. Post-election he told 60 Minutes that the wall could include “some fencing,” and later said some areas didn’t need a wall, pointing to existing “vicious rivers.”
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One particular bill to keep an eye on, according to Laura Reiff of Greenberg Traurig LLP, is the Legal Workforce Act, a previously floated measure that would require employers to use E-Verify.
“It may be introduced on its own because it's been stand-alone for so long, and then married up with a border bill,” Reiff said. “And I anticipate these things coming out of the House."