Key Points – A recent survey by law firm Littler Mendelson reveals that U.S. employers are increasingly worried about staffing challenges posed by the Trump administration’s tough immigration stance.
-Around 58% expressed concern over potential staffing shortages due to immigration policies, while 70% expect ICE and DHS enforcement actions to significantly affect their workplaces.
-Employers also anticipate added delays and higher costs when securing visas for foreign workers, further complicating workforce management.
-Legal experts advise companies to prepare updated documentation and crisis management plans. Additionally, employers expect more favorable rulings from the Trump-appointed National Labor Relations Board, but face growing scrutiny of inclusion and diversity policies.
The Next Trump Crisis?
The Trump Administration has been pursuing a promised crackdown on immigration, and the nation’s employers are expressing concern about it.
That’s according to an annual employer survey, released earlier this week by the law firm Littler Mendelson P.C.
Littler’s 13th Annual Employer Survey found that a majority of employers are “concerned about potential staffing challenges resulting from the administration’s immigration policies.” Meanwhile, 70 percent of respondents expect enforcement by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to “have a significant or moderate impact on their workplaces over the next 12 months.”
The survey includes a sample of “350 in-house lawyers, business executives, and human resources professionals.”
When asked “To what extent is your organization concerned about workforce staffing challenges as a result of the Trump administration’s immigration policies?,” 42 percent stated they were “not at all concerned,” while 32 percent were “slightly concerned,” 20 percent were “moderately concerned” and 6 percent were “very concerned”; meaning that a majority (58 percent) are some level of concerned.
When asked to what extent “enforcement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and compliance with their respective requirements” will have on their workplace in the next 12 months, 26 percent answered “a significant impact,” 44 percent said “moderate impact,” and 30 percent said “no impact.”
Legal vs. Illegal
The survey also said that while ICE, as of the writing of the survey, has not performed any formal ICE raids of employer worksites, those are expected to arrive within months, while “administrative warrants and Notices of Inspection/subpoenas” have been more of a concern in the early going of the second Trump Administration.
One thing that comes up repeatedly in the survey is that employers could find themselves hurt by a crackdown against legal immigration, which fell by 40 percent in Trump’s first term, and there are promises of more such measures, from new travel bans to greater vetting of visa applicants.
“These actions will likely lead to visa processing delays, retention challenges and added costs for employers with foreign workers,” the Littler survey says. For example, should an employee travel abroad for work or personal reasons, it may take more time (and money) to secure a visa to travel back to the U.S.—if it is issued at all.”
The advice from Jorge R. Lopez, chair of Littler’s Immigration and Global Mobility Practice Group, is for employers to make sure their I-9 forms are up to date and to put together a crisis management team in the event of ICE raids or other high-profile incidents.
Inside the NLRB
As is often the case in Republican administrations, employers are anticipating a more management-friendly National Labor Relations Board, with signs of that already showing in the administration’s early months. Therefore, “employers’ level of concern about NLRB enforcement fell considerably” since the survey was last taken.
As noted by the firm, National Labor Relations Board Acting General Counsel William Cowen in February rescinded several memos issued by the Biden-era NLRB, while Trump Administration executive orders rescinded the previous administration’s orders on the use of AI and “minimum wage increases for federal contractors.”
However, Littler stated that state and local policymakers “are expected to fill the gap.”
Other Concerns
According to the survey, even more employers (84 percent) are concerned with the impact of changes related to “inclusion, equity and diversity (IE&D)” than from immigration or changes to “LGBTQ+ protections in the workplace.” IE&D is the firm’s term for what’s sometimes called “DEI.”
“With IE&D programs facing existential threats and unprecedented scrutiny from federal agencies, we’re seeing many employers wisely step back and analyze their IE&D practices with an eye toward compliance and effectiveness,” Jeanine Conley Daves, a Littler shareholder and member of the firm’s IE&D Consulting Practice, said in the firm’s release of the survey.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter
Pingback: Trump's Plan to Destroy Birthright Citizenship Could Create a 'National Crisis' - National Security Journal