Employers are growing worried that the Trump administration's immigration crackdown will lead to staffing shortages in the near future, a new survey found.
According to an annual employer survey from The Littler, the largest global employment and labor law firm, 75% of executives across different industries said the administration's immigration policies were among their top concerns. The survey was conducted between late February to mid-March, drawing 349 respondents from a variety of industries.
Immigration was the second largest concern for executives in the survey, only surpassed by diversity, equity and inclusion considerations (85%), another set of policies being targeted by the Trump administration.
Other concerns included LGBT protections in the workplace (58%), union activity and labor relations (47%), wage and hour/pay practices (43%), AI use in the workplace (42%), employee health insurance and related benefits (31%) and data privacy (31%).
When it comes to immigration, 70% of executives said they expect the administration's policies, particularly mass deportations, to have a significant or moderate impact on their workplaces over the next 12 months.
Likewise, The Little argues that employers are currently bracing for an expected increase in audits and raids from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). However, the survey explains, they could risk underestimating the impact of Trump's policies on legal immigration, which declined by about 40% during the president's first term.
Further, this could have costly consequences for employers, 58% of whom expressed concern about potential staffing challenges resulting from the administration's immigration policies.
"I was just flabbergasted by how high the concern was among our clients," said Jorge Lopez, a shareholder at the firm who chairs its immigration and global mobility practice group, about the immigration figure. He argued that the results show you where the mindset is for American companies.
In light of increased ICE raids, Lopez recommends companies to be prepared to manage a crisis.
"With the expected uptick in worksite enforcement, it is important for employers to proactively conduct reviews to check that I-9 forms are up to date, that they know where they're located, and that there is a crisis management team in place in the event of a site visit from ICE or another government agency," Lopez said.
"At the same time, businesses should be cognizant of changing policies on legal immigration, including stricter eligibility criteria for employment-based visas and the risk of travel restrictions, and the resulting challenges to maintaining a steady workforce to meet business objectives," he continued.
But despite employers worries about their businesses' health due to immigration crackdown, the White House says this will be beneficial to young Americans.
"Over one in ten young adults in America are neither employed, in higher education, nor pursuing some sort of vocational training. There is no shortage of American minds and hands to grow our labor force, and President Trump's executive order to modernize workforce training programs represents this Administration's commitment to capitalizing on that untapped potential," White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.
Originally published on Latin Times
