OVERRULED

Judge Blocks Trump’s Crackdown on Work Visas

Trump halted the approval of new specialized work visas in April, citing the economy’s coronavirus downturn.

A federal judge in Oakland ruled late Thursday that President Donald Trump’s executive order suspending the approval of specialized work visas was illegitimate. In April, Trump halted the issuing of new H-1B, H-2B, J-1 and L-1 visas for immigrant workers, citing the economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Silicon Valley and other technical industries rely on foreign worker visas to fill positions with those who have the necessary skills, and a wide swath of businesses sued to overturn the order, including the National Association of Manufacturers, National Retail Federation, Microsoft, and Amazon. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also joined the plaintiffs, and its immigration policy executive Jon Baselice called the ruling “a great victory for American businesses and our nation’s economy.”