Several major business leaders in the US have joined forces to express their concern over the immigration policies currently pursued by the Trump administration. The Business Round Table’s CEO members, which include the likes of Tim Cook, Jamie Dimon, Indra Nooyi, and Ginni Rometty, sent a letter on Thursday to Kirstjen Nielsen, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, in which they expressed worries about the negative impact of the issues on the US economy.
Those who signed the letter say that considerable anxiety has been caused to thousands of employees by immigration policy changes. It also suggested that company operations could be disrupted as a consequence, claiming that they have resulted in uncertainty and inconsistency and forced employees into renewing temporary work US visas repeatedly, creating unnecessary complications and expenses for US firms.
The letter adds that many of the employees are students of American universities who received their degrees in the US, often within vital STEM fields. The letter highlighted inconsistent decisions on immigration, spouses having their legal statuses revoked, the beginning of deportation proceedings, and confusion over required information as the four main areas causing uncertainty for employees.
The business leaders say that the policies are unfair and are discouraging high-skilled and talented immigrants from coming to the US to pursue their career opportunities, as well as jeopardizing the future of many long-term employees who have received authorization to work in the country from the government many times in the past.