We at CIS have been following nine different monthly migration measures to weigh the combined influence of the Covid-19 restrictions and the overall policies of the Trump administration. Newly obtained August data shows substantial reductions in the measured flows when compared to August 2019, and continues to show that the reductions are uneven, as before.
Legal border crossings from Mexico continue to be down by half from August 2019 data, while they have been reduced by more than 96 percent on the northern border. Meanwhile, H-2A farmworker visas from Mexico have been reduced by only about 3 percent from the prior August; five of the other six measures, including global immigrant and global nonimmigrant visa issuances have been reduced by 83 percent to 91 percent.
Impact of Trump Policy and Covid-19 on Select
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| Selected Migration Measures |
Number, August 2019 |
Number, August 2020 |
Percentage Change |
| H-2A (Farmworker) Visas Issued in Mexico |
16,556 | 16,111 | -2.70% |
| SW Border Apprehensions |
50,684 | 46,864 | -7.60% |
| Border Crossings from Mexico, Five Largest Ports of Entry |
8,938,786 | 4,291,898 | -51.90% |
| Immigrant Visas, World-Wide* | 38,090 | 6,108 | -83.90% |
| Nonimmigrant Visas, World-Wide | 742,011 | 94,416 | -87.30% |
| Issuances of E-2 (Nonimmigrant Investor) Visas in Canada, Great Britain, and Italy |
887 | 110 | -87.60% |
| K-1 (Fiancée) Visas Issued in Philippines, Mexico, Vietnam |
953 | 94 | -90.10% |
| H-2B (Non-Ag, Unskilled) Visas Issued in Mexico and Jamaica |
672 | 62 | -90.70% |
| Border Crossings from Canada, Five Largest Ports of Entry |
4,034,067 | 158,803 | -96.10% |
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Sources: Various government databases, such as DHS, DOT, and State. When numbers * This number may appear to be misleading, as it would suggest 456,000 immigrants a |
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The July and August data show few apparent changes, with one exception. While there were only five E-2 (Treaty Investor) visas issued in Canada, Great Britain, and Italy in July 2020, that number jumped to 110 in August 2020; that change reflected decisions made by U.S. posts in those three nations. Still, the number of E-2 visas in those countries dropped 87.6 percent from last August to this August.
The author is grateful to CIS intern Jackson Koonce for his research assistance.