President Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Biden differ dramatically in their assumptions and approaches to immigration. In a new insight, AAF’s Labor Market Policy Data Analyst Isabel Soto and Whitney Appel summarize the Trump Administration’s first-term immigration policies, outline his second-term goals, and identify areas that a Biden Administration could target for reversal.

An excerpt:

President Trump has increased regulations…and is moving toward a merit-based system. Due to pandemic-related immigration policies, the Trump Administration has made it virtually impossible for migrants and refugees to enter the United States, citing health, safety, and labor-market concerns. On the other hand, Biden’s approach, which is mostly a rehashing of Obama-era policies, does not seem to acknowledge the difficulty of drastic changes and foreign investment during the pandemic. In the medium- to long-term, however, some aspects of the Biden immigration plan could be an opportunity to expand the U.S. labor force, increase productivity, and ultimately lead to economic growth.

Read the analysis.