The surprise winners of Trump's immigration wars

The Trump administration has imposed a $100,000 visa fee on H-1B workers while relaxing wage requirements for seasonal farm laborers, reversing expectations that it would crack down harder on low-skilled immigration. As of mid-February, only 85 applicants had paid the steep H-1B fee despite more than 65,000 approved H-1B recipients being subject to it in fiscal 2024, crushing demand in tech, healthcare, and research sectors. Rural hospitals and universities are among the hardest hit outside of tech, facing potential slowdowns in patient care and research capacity. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor has cut hourly rates for seasonal farm workers by $1 to $3 per hour depending on the state and created streamlined visa processing, drawing a lawsuit from the United Farm Workers union, which argues the changes exploit cheap foreign labor under the guise of "America First" policy.