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Know this Now: Immigration News and Policy Shifts for Employers — May 30

By May 31, 2025No Comments

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Parachute Manufacturer Depends on Immigrants with Temporary Legal Protections

ABIC member and Mills Manufacturing CEO John Oswald was featured in the WSJ, speaking about the critical role immigrants working under temporary legal protections play in his company’s workforce. Making the military parachutes, primarily used by the U.S. Army and Marines, requires skill and precision these employees have honed.

Oswald warns that losing his skilled immigrant workforce would be a devastating blow to his 90-year-old company — and a direct threat to our national security.

“These individuals who have come over have filled a huge hole, not just for Mills but for a lot of companies,” said Oswald, who is an ABIC member and attended our fly-in in March to meet with lawmakers and advocate for commonsense immigration reform.

The Supreme Court recently upheld the Trump administration’s ability to end temporary protected status for about 350,000 Venezuelans. Oswald warns that losing his skilled immigrant employees, including dozens of workers from Ukraine, Nicaragua and other countries who are at risk of losing their legal status, could severely harm the business and jeopardize their ability to produce the parachutes.

News Briefing:

Response to the Megabill Containing $140B Immigration and Border Security Budget, as it Moves to Senate

Tom Homan, the White House’s border czar, responded to the House passing the budget megabill last week that includes $350 billion in new spending, 40% of which is slated for immigration and border security measures.

“It will provide the needed funds and manpower to increase the great work of ICE on our deportation operations nationwide,” Homan wrote on X. “We have many more public safety and national security threats to remove.”

Axios: Top Presidential Aide Stephen Miller and Security Sec. Kristi Noem Tell ICE To Supercharge Immigrant Arrests

In a meeting with top immigration officers last week, Miller and Noem demanded ICE agents seek to arrest 3,000 people a day, triple the number of daily arrests from earlier this year. The directive indicates the president’s top immigration officials are ramping up their push for mass deportations.

Miller is the White House’s deputy chief of staff and leading architect of President Trump’s immigration policy.

State Department Restructuring Under Marco Rubio, Creating “Office of Remigration”

The State Department plans to establish an “Office of Remigration” as part of a major reorganization. The term “remigration” is considered controversial as it is used by far-right European politicians to advocate for mass deportation of non-white immigrants and their descendants.

The new office would fall under the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and marks a significant shift from refugee resettlement to immigration removal. The proposal also includes deep staffing cuts—greater than the 15% reduction previously discussed. 

NYT Feature: Missouri Town Rallies Behind One of Their Own, Detained By ICE

In Kennett, Mo., a conservative farming hub, the community is rallying around a long-time community member named Carol (legal name Ming Li Hui) who arrived from Hong Kong 20 years ago and has built a life and family in Kennett.


Carol’s name is now on prayer lists at local churches and residents say she was missed at her son’s baseball games and 8th-grade graduation. 

U.S. Veterans Oppose Administration’s Plan to End Afghans’ Deportation Protection

The Trump administration’s decision to end deportation protections for Afghans who evacuated after the fall of Kabul has angered U.S. veterans, who view it as a betrayal of America’s sacred promise to its wartime allies.


Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that TPS for Afghans will end in July, potentially subjecting thousands to deportation. Advocates warn that returning Afghans would likely face retaliation from the Taliban.

“Some of these are our closest partners, people that actually worked with us and for us…If they’re sent back to Afghanistan it would be a death sentence for them,” said Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colorado), a former Army Ranger who fought in Afghanistan.

Applications for H-1B Visas Have Fallen by 25% 

Applications for H-1B visas are down by 25% from a year ago, due to  higher fees and companies’ fears that the Trump administration will be stricter, reports the Wall Street Journal. The H-1B is a temporary (nonimmigrant) visa category that allows employers to petition for highly educated foreign professionals to work in “specialty occupations” and is used widely by the technology industry.

Though the drop mirrors companies’ uncertainty about shifts to the program and to their own labor needs, the program won’t be shrinking—it is always massively oversubscribed.

Restricting Aid to Undocumented Immigrants Could Impact U.S. Citizen Children and Legally Present Individuals
President Trump’s administration is pushing measures to remove undocumented immigrants from subsidized housing, tighten immigration checks for food stamps, and limit immigrants’ access to Medicaid, Medicare, and other federal aid. While supporters argue this will deter illegal immigration, unauthorized immigrants generally do not receive federal benefits. Experts warn the changes would mostly harm U.S. citizen children of undocumented parents and legally present immigrants like refugees and asylum seekers.

Enforcement
Over 100 Detained In One Of Florida’s Largest Immigration Raids

ICE, the Florida Highway Patrol, and other agencies conducted one of Florida’s largest immigration raids at a student housing construction site near Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee. Over 100 people were detained after officers checked IDs and work permits.

Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket: Over 40 Detained in ICE Raid
An immigration raid on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket led to the arrest of around 40 individuals, according to ICE. Work vans were pulled over and the raids come just as the islands enter the busy summer season.

“If you enjoy Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, or Cape Cod, especially in the summer, please remember that it is largely immigrants who make your vacation possible,” said Massachusetts state Sen. Julian Cyr.

Business Spotlight: Mushroom Farming

Shah Kazemi is owner of Monterey Mushrooms, the nation’s largest provider of mushrooms, and operates farms in California, Tennessee, Texas, and Mexico with nearly 2,000 employees. He shared his thoughts on the essential role of migrant labor in U.S. agriculture with the Guardian.

“These are skilled workers, harvesting at a certain rate to stay productive; you have to know your trade….We have a lot of respect and admiration for these people. They’re really underappreciated,” Kazemi said.

He emphasized that without migrant workers, there would not be enough agriculture workers to get food to American tables. He advocates for a system more similar to Canada’s worker program:

Fights in the Courts

Federal Judge Blasts Trump Lawyers for Tactics in Abrego Garcia Case



A federal judge in Maryland reprimanded Trump administration lawyers for requesting a last-minute extension in the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorian migrant mistakenly deported. Judge Paula Xinis denied the 30-day request, criticizing the lawyers for filing on the day their response was due and failing to show good cause. She noted the government’s complaints about the burden of expedited discovery were problems they created themselves.

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Intervene on South Sudan Deportations

The migrants the U.S. attempted to deport to South Sudan were originally from various countries, including Myanmar, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, Mexico, and South Sudan. A district court judge previously barred deportations of people to countries where they have no ties in April. Last week the judge found the administration violated the ruling by attempting to deport the migrants to South Sudan. The administration has now asked the Supreme Court to halt the judge’s order. 

Trump Administration Sues 4 New Jersey Cities Over ‘Sanctuary’ Policies

The Trump administration announced last Friday a lawsuit against Newark, Jersey City, Paterson and Hoboken, accusing them of being sanctuary jurisdictions and obstructing ICE agents. 

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