[saltking112]

If Trump is talking about immigration and work visas alike, I simply can't imagine how large parts of the American economy is going to function without foreign workers.

For one, no labor could be hired to perform many farm duties, and certainly not for the amount that farms pay foreign temp workers.

Similarly, Silicon Valley is also hugely dependent. Indeed, if firms could hire locally, they won't jump through the extra hoops to secure work visas - yet we see so many folks on work visas all across the tech industry.

Last, investor visas also inject a sizable amount of capital into the US capital markets and pulling the plug on that when many businesses can't access capital just doesn't make any sense. Most of these people do not even need to work anyway.

I am afraid this is going to accomplish precisely the opposite of what he set out to do.

[ta1771]

> Indeed, if firms could hire locally, they won't jump through the extra hoops to secure work visas

They...could. It would just cost more. This is a controversial topic because everyone has differing experiences on opposite sides of this "debate".

[nikofeyn]

> I am afraid this is going to accomplish precisely the opposite of what he set out to do.

this is not meant to accomplish anything other than to garner him votes for his re-election and to further the republican assault on immigration. it has nothing to do with actual jobs.

[pm321]

"For one, no labor could be hired to perform many farm duties, and certainly not for the amount that farms pay foreign temp workers."

The opportunity is definitely there to roboticize the backbreaking work those faceless poorly dressed "peasants" are subject to under the watchful gaze of new bossman from investor capitalized Communist Party China. Isreali robotics firms have demo proofs of concepts years ago. Even Elon Musk has posted YouTube clips of potato size sorting machine.

[tartoran]

If this was feasible it would have happened already. I don’t think we’re there yet. And how many years are we not to have veggies, fruits any other items that come directly from the labor of immigrants? And Americans won’t do this type of work, even if paid better I think

[burfog]

That sounds a lot like picking cotton. If the immigrants don't become Americans (who supposedly "won't do this type of work") then what are they? It sounds an awful lot like keeping slaves. They even arrive crammed in the holds of ships, unable to speak the local language.

Americans will do the work. They won't if an excess of unskilled labor drives down the wages, but that doesn't have to happen. We don't need to keep an underclass.