How Latinx workers are being impacted by Trump-era policies

President Donald Trump has made his stance on diversity clear, and it has left Latinx workforces globally to wonder what the coming months and years will mean for their personal and their professional lives. 

Within the first few weeks of the Trump administration, the U.S. has already threatened new economic and migratory sanctions against Latin America, especially in regards to Latin American countries like Colombia, Brazil and Mexico. Impacted U.S. companies and employers with Latinx employees and remote employees should prepare for potential disruptions — and put in strategies to best support their workers. 

"Each of those demographics need very different things," says Stamatis Astra, co-founder and chief business officer of Intelligent Relations, a public relations platform. "But in the big picture, these issues are affecting livelihoods; it's not just about careers anymore."

Read more: How far will Trump go to erase DEI in the workplace?

For Latinx employees in the U.S., the most pressing concern for many is their own status, whether they're undocumented or not. Since taking office, President Trump has signed at least 10 immigration orders and actions that fulfill his campaign promises of mass deportations and increased border security. Within the first month, increased ICE raids have led to the deportation of 37,660 people. And while the administration has claimed it's only targeting individuals with criminal histories for now, it doesn't inspire too much confidence in the rest of the Latinx community, Astra says. 

"Those who don't have their documents have started staying home and avoiding doctor appointments because they were worried they'd be confronted," Astra says. "But even those with documents — whether with green cards or in the process of attaining them — are still worried because they're not fully American citizens yet and the process could now be delayed." 

Before Trump first took office in 2017, the average wait time for a Labor Certification from the Department of Labor, which allows a U.S. employer to hire a foreign worker on a temporary or permanent basis, was approximately two months, according to immigration law firm Reddy Neumann Brown. Currently, that same process now takes approximately 18 months. Approval times for a Form I-140, the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, which classifies an undocumented individual as someone who is eligible for an immigrant visa based on employment, has also increased from a few weeks to six to eight months since 2019. 

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It is also likely that work authorization for H-4 visa holders, which allows the spouse and unmarried children of workers with legal status to live in the United States, could be revoked in further policy changes. The effort had been previously pursued by the Trump administration which ultimately stalled due to legal changes at the time, but it's now possible for it to be revived, which would affect the families of hundreds of documented workers across the country. 

"It's out of their control," Astra says. "They feel lost, which is very difficult." 

Latinx employees working for U.S. companies from their home countries aren't safe either. In January, the Trump administration threatened Colombia with high tariffs should the country refuse to accept the deported migrants the U.S. sent in military aircrafts. In the end, Colombia agreed to the President's terms and the administration didn't impose the aforementioned penalties. However, the whole ordeal shook workers in every Latin American country, including members of Astra's own distributed workforce.  

Read more: What employers need to know about ICE raids

"It's not easy for them," he says. "The experience of traveling is not the same as it used to be even just last year. We have had employees that asked not to come for conferences or on-site events to avoid the stress." 

It's true that employers —both those employing Latinx workers and those with an offshore workforce — cannot change the political landscape for their employees. However, there are measures they can take to ensure that they feel supported and it all hinges on healthy communication and empathy, according to Astra, especially with the long-term outcomes of these policy changes being uncertain. 

"Traditionally there has been this attitude that leaders and the HR department have to be tough, and demand everything from their employees both in and outside the office," he says. "But these people have children and families and they are terribly worried. For better or for worse, the best thing the organization can do is listen carefully and try to understand."