The United States has suspended the admission of immigrants, including Ukrainians. Analysts warn of danger for the US economy.
The US Department of Homeland Security has suspended immigration programs. How writes January 24 The New York Times, under the Uniting for Ukraine program in the country earlier more than 150 thousand Ukrainians moved in. The publication refers to an email from one of the heads of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, subordinate to the DHS.
The official sent out a directive demanding that he immediately stop making final decisions on applications for residency programs that the Donald Trump administration is currently reviewing, a “huge number” of these programs. They relate in particular to citizens of Ukraine, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela.
One of the suspended programs is Uniting for Ukraine, adopted under former US President Joe Biden. She allowed Ukrainians fleeing the war to come and work in the United States without a visa, provided that a financial sponsor already living in the country vouched for them. As of September 2023, more than 150 thousand Ukrainians have entered the United States under the Uniting for Ukraine program.
A USCIS spokesperson confirmed to NYT that a new directive was issued this past week, but declined to go into details.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump made a powerful move yesterday: within 40 minutes, imposing sanctions and warning about next steps, broke the resistance of the Colombian President and forced him to do the “right thing” by accepting illegal migrants from the United States. Colombia agreed to accept deportation flights from the United States with illegal migrants, and the country's president, who demanded respect for Colombian migrants, sent his plane to pick them up.
It is already clear that the US President will use approximately the same methods in relation to potential peace negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Nevertheless, everything will be put into place by the telephone conversation between the American president and Putin and their meeting, where the main proposals for exiting the war will be put forward and the possibility of their implementation will be assessed.
But let's return to migrants. In the analysis, carried out Bloomberg Economics says that If Trump succeeds in deporting all illegal migrants from the United States, the country's economy could lose 8% of gross domestic product.
Trump has vowed to deport all immigrants living in the country without authorization, an estimated number of 11 million people. On Friday, January 24, the new US administration began sending deportees back to Guatemala and El Salvador on US military aircraft.
If Trump manages to fully implement his proposals, it will cause shock waves in the economysay strategists, economists and Wall Street professionals. We are talking about a rise in inflation, agriculture and construction will experience a labor shortage.
Bringing back all illegal immigrants would reduce America's gross domestic product by 8%, an analysis by Bloomberg Economics found. Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert, notes:
“If we're talking about the imminent deportation of 10 million people, I think it's fair to say that while the economic impact won't be as large as it was during the pandemic, it could be close.”
Against the backdrop of such risks, the S&P 500 index reached a new all-time high. This is due to the fact that traders do not believe that Trump will successfully implement the deportation of all 10-11 million illegal migrants. Parnassus Investments Chief Investment Officer Todd Alsten says:
“People forget very quickly that there's often a lot more talk than actual action, especially with the midterm elections coming up in 20 months. So we don't want to over-extrapolate what could be a short-term blip and get it wrong.”
More Stories
Davos: Zelensky proposed trying Putin in New York
Keir Starmer gives green light to China’s ‘super embassy’ in London
Lavrov sums up 2025: the “spirit of Anchorage” and the new reality of power