The US economy is starting to be shaken up by the Trump Administration’s revocation of humanitarian parole programs that gave foreign nationals the ability to work legally in the country. President Trump’s tough stance on immigration and recent government actions have forced many immigrants, who were legally residing in the US and had authorization to work, out of their jobs. As the Trump administration revoked humanitarian parole programs for nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (“CHNV”) and Temporary protected status (“TPS”) for nationals of Venezuela and Haiti the numbers of foreign nationals with valid work permits has taken a dive. As a result, Amazon has been faced with a dwindling work force in their warehouses around the country after certain employees who were eligible to work under CHNV or TPS could not obtain new work authorization documents and were consequently dismissed in late June as a result of their loss of work authorization.

The Amazon workforce is part of a larger wave of foreign workers across the country who have been quietly pushed out of their jobs, even in industries where their work is both needed and appreciated. While high-profile immigration raids have been making headlines, many of these job losses are happening more quietly, as part of a broader government effort to reduce the number of immigrants allowed to work legally in the US. Other companies, including Walmart which is country’s largest private employer, and Disney have reported to have been “forced to fire employees or put them on leave in order to comply with shifting federal policies.” Loss of employees is also affecting American farmers who rely on immigrant labor. According to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell “economic growth is slowing due to a shrinking labor force.”

We can only hope that President Trump stays true to his word and changes are indeed coming to help foreign-born employees remain in the US and continue to contribute to the US economy.