The restrictions would block entry into the United States under the H-1B visa program for high-skilled workers, and would also affect several other categories of visas, although it would exempt health care professionals and farm workers, among others. Taken together, senior administration officials said, the worker visa bans and green card suspensions would prevent 525,000 immigrants from working in the United States between now and the end of the year.

The order, which has been expected for several weeks, is fiercely opposed by a broad swathe of businesses — including high tech companies in Silicon Valley, manufacturers, and others — whose leaders say it will block their ability to recruit critically needed workers from overseas countries for jobs that Americans cannot or will not perform.

Stephen Miller, the architect of the president’s restrictive immigration policies, has pushed for years to limit or eliminate the worker visas, arguing that they harm employment prospects for Americans. In recent months, he has argued that the economic distress caused by the virus has made it even more important to turn off the spigot of foreign entry into the United States.

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Anahi Jaquez Estrada was detained for 18 months at an ICE facility before being deported on October 22, 2019 after having lived in the United States since age 3. She was her senior class president, an honors student and an insurance agent in her hometown Wiggins, Colorado. In 2018, a client filed a fraudulent insurance claim and Jaquez Estrada failed to verify a technicality before approving it. The claim was later withdrawn by the client. She was charged with insurance fraud, while the client walked free. A felony charge was plead down to a misdemeanor with probation. During her first probation visit, she was detained by ICE agents leaving behind her husband and 8-year-old daughter both United States citizens. From there, the family was thrust into a nightmare scenario for a seemingly normal American family. Estrada Perez said she was treated as though she had killed somebody for a simple misdemeanor. In ICE custody she said detainees were given fresh clothes every three days, a single bar of hotel style soap monthly, fresh linens maybe monthly and worked voluntary jobs for 30+ hours a week for a single dollar of pay. On the day of her October 22, 2019 deportation, her husband, Jose Trujillo Perez got word through friends that Anahi was being deported. He called the facility to find out where she would be going. He was told they would not tell him, so he began driving from eastern colorado to Juarez, Mexico in hopes that she would be there. Anahi was, in fact, taken to Juarez with no phone and $50. She knew the dangers of “murder city” and feared for her life as she was dropped off at 2am. Two men in the group suggested she stay with them as the streets of Juarez are lno place for a solo person let alone a woman. Jose, meanwhile, was frantically searching. At the border an agent had to wave a hand in front of his face to snap him out of his exhausted and racing mind. The agent was confused, but as soon as he mspoke the words, “mi esposa fue deportado,” the agent let him through immediately. They were reunited shortly after. Anahi has not seen her daughter in person since October 19, 2019, which was the first time she had been able to hug her in more than a year

A post shared by AAron Ontiveroz (@aaronontiveroz) on Nov 4, 2019 at 9:14am PST