Xinhua Headlines: Trump's tougher immigration policies stir social, economic controversy

* Since the start of Trump's second term, the federal government has dramatically intensified arrests and deportations and tightened legal immigration through various measures.

* Many of its policies have also faced legal challenges in federal courts, while public opinion has turned increasingly negative toward the president's handling of immigration.

* While some are concerned about what hardline immigration policies say about America's openness and inclusiveness, others worry about their potential economic impact.

by Xinhua writer Xiong Maoling

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Since the start of his second term, U.S. President Donald Trump has stepped up deportations and enforcement against undocumented immigrants while also tightening restrictions on legal immigration, which has a far-reaching impact on American society.

On the one hand, they cater to MAGA (Make America Great Again) supporters' hostility toward immigration -- particularly illegal immigration -- and fulfill Trump's campaign promises. On the other hand, they have triggered a number of legal challenges and a public backlash, with some Americans arguing that the government's actions lack due process and, in certain cases, have gone too far.

In addition, economists warn that reduced immigration could lead to labor shortages in agriculture and the service sector, potentially driving up costs in some industries and, over the long term, weighing on labor force growth and the economy's overall potential.

HARDLINE POSITION

Since the start of Trump's second term, the federal government has dramatically intensified arrests and deportations and tightened legal immigration through various measures.

"In First 100 days, Trump 2.0 has dramatically reshaped the U.S. Immigration System," according to an article by the think tank Migration Policy Institute in April, which noted that the Trump administration issued a "flurry of immigration-related executive actions -- at a pace sixfold greater than during the same period in the first Trump term."

The administration's policies go far beyond deporting illegal immigrants. They have expanded travel bans, rolled out stricter rules on the H-1B visa program, removed Temporary Protected Status for migrants from numerous countries, moved to restrict the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which offers temporary protection from deportation for certain undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children, and attempted to restrict birthright citizenship.

On Nov. 5, the White House published a summary highlighting immigration policy as a key accomplishment.

"Since taking office, the Trump Administration has arrested 150,000+ illegal immigrants, deported 139,000+ illegal immigrants, and released just nine illegal immigrants into the U.S.," the summary said.

In a prime-time national address on Wednesday night, Trump touted his administration's efforts to tighten immigration, claiming that he had secured the border and reduced illegal migrant arrivals compared with the Biden administration.

"Starting on day one, I took immediate action to stop the invasion of our southern border. For the past seven months, zero illegal aliens have been allowed into our country, a feat which everyone said was absolutely impossible," Trump said in the speech.

Trump's hardline positions have been interpreted by many observers as politically calculated to maintain his base support, as analysts and polling data show that most Republican and MAGA-aligned voters support stricter immigration policies.

GROWING BACKLASH

Despite these efforts, the administration's deportation pace fell well short of its goal of 1 million a year. Many of its policies have also faced legal challenges in federal courts, while public opinion has turned increasingly negative toward the president's handling of immigration.

According to a Pew Research Center survey released on Monday, 53 percent of Americans say the administration is doing "too much" when it comes to deporting immigrants who are living in the United States illegally, up from 44 percent in March.

The survey found that 86 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents hold that view, an increase of 11 percentage points since March. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 20 percent said the administration is doing too much, up 7 points over the same period.

Americans have strong "procedural objections" to the way the Trump administration is carrying out its policies, according to an analysis by The Brookings Institution published in late July.

The article noted that many Americans believe the administration has acted too quickly and made numerous mistakes, disapprove of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents wearing masks rather than uniforms during raids, dislike the way detention facilities are being used, and support the right of immigrants to challenge their deportation in court.

"Trump's handling of deportations is unpopular ... The aggressive deportations we've seen, often against people without criminal records or even with legal standing to be in the United States, fall far outside what swing voters expected," Christopher Galdieri, a political science professor at Saint Anselm College in the northeastern state of New Hampshire, told Xinhua.

Trump "has handled deportations in a very tough manner, and there are many images of masked agents in unmarked vehicles grabbing people off the street," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua. "This disturbs a number of people due to its brutality and cruelty."

ECONOMIC IMPACT

While some are concerned about what hardline immigration policies say about America's openness and inclusiveness, others worry about their potential economic impact.

Economists and research organizations generally conclude that Trump's strict immigration measures, by reducing the flow of new immigrants and shrinking the workforce, are likely to slow economic growth and constrain the economy's long-term potential.

"The Trump administration's policies on illegal and legal immigration would reduce the projected number of workers in the United States by 6.8 million by 2028 and by 15.7 million by 2035 and lower the annual rate of economic growth by almost one-third, harming U.S. living standards," said an October analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), a non-profit policy research organization.

"If you want to have a growing economy, you need to have a growing labor force," said Stuart Anderson, executive director of the NFAP. "The idea that you are just going to create more opportunity by having fewer workers available just doesn't work in practice."

Politico, a U.S. political news outlet, reported in July that the loss of foreign workers is beginning to bite the U.S. economy, particularly highlighting labor shortages in agriculture.

The report cited a June study by Oxford Economics, which warned that tightening the labor market through strict immigration enforcement "could permanently increase inflation," noting that limited workers may lead to higher production costs and lower output.

Since the start of 2025, job growth in industries heavily reliant on undocumented labor has been weaker than the rest of the private sector, including the hotel, restaurant, construction, and health-care industries, according to an article published by the Council on Foreign Relations in early December.

The agricultural industry, in particular, could suffer as the administration's immigration crackdown continues, said the article, adding that it could also reduce the amount of goods and services produced domestically, a major component of the gross domestic product.

(Matthew Rusling also contributed to the story.)■