President Donald Trump appeared to cave on one of his key campaign promises, according to several insiders who spoke with The Washington Post for its report Friday, ditching a plan to deport countless migrants at the behest of an “extensive lobbying effort” that had not been previously reported.
Ahead of the 2024 election, Trump vowed to carry out the “largest deportation effort in American history,” Reuters previously reported, and appeared to be making good on that promise last month after his administration announced a rule change that would require the hundreds of thousands of green card applicants to leave the United States and apply overseas.
The rule change didn’t sit well with leaders in the “big business” community, however, which quickly launched a fierce lobbying campaign against the White House, warning the administration that the rule change could harm their workforce – and, per the Post’s report, appears to have won out.
“Late last week, the administration veered sharply in its messaging. [Trump administration] officials privately reassured business leaders in a meeting that most work visas would not be impacted, according to one of the people [familiar with the discussions],” the Post’s report reads.
“The agency also clarified to reporters that most immigrants seeking permanent residency would not have to leave the country, although officials have yet to issue any formal guidance saying so.”
Trump’s “softened stance on green cards,” as the Post described it, represented the latest rift between the business community that often relies on cheap foreign labor – which some critics have labeled as exploitative and “close to slavery” – and the president’s supporters, many of whom are hawkish on immigration.
While the Trump administration appears to have backed off its immediate efforts to force the hundreds of thousands of green card applicants out of the country, the recent lobbying effort that may have forced Trump’s hand was not an outlier, the Post noted.
“The recent lobbying effort builds upon a broader one that has been underway for months. Business leaders have been raising concerns about restrictive immigration policy in conversations with Trump confidantes who they perceive as more friendly with the business community, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and members of the Kushner family, according to two of the people who spoke to The Post,” the report reads.
“Business leaders have also been in direct communication with the White House, specifically the Domestic Policy Council, through private channels to voice opposition to immigration policies that restrict access to workers.”