THE NEW YORJ TIMES: After a year focused on immigrants here illegally, the Trump administration is now making it harder for legal migrants to stay in the country. It is a risky pivot.
The Trump administration has pulled back its aggressive operations in cities like Chicago and Minneapolis after bad polling indicated the crackdown on illegal immigration was unpopular.
In its wake, however, a new approach is emerging on legal immigration, one that makes it harder for those abroad to enter the United States, and for those already here on a temporary basis to stay. In recent months, Trump administration officials have discussed the legal immigration system as rife with fraud and abuse, and in need of wholesale reform.
The increasingly tough tack on legal immigration was underscored Friday when the Department of Homeland Security announced a policy requiring most immigrants seeking green cards to leave the United States while they wait long periods of time for their applications to be processed.
Green cards are granted to legal permanent residents who have been vetted by the government and are one step away from becoming citizens. The policy caused immigration attorneys to scramble to understand the scope of a process that had long avoided being targeted. » | Hamed Aleaziz | Reporting from Washington | Saturday, May 23, 2026
