Law360 Quotes Pagano and Higgins on Prospects for Immigration Actions in Closing Days of Trump Admin.

Law360 has quoted Akin Gump public law and policy partner Ed Pagano and senior policy advisor Casey Higgins in the article “Trump Could Further Rattle Immigration Law Before His Exit.” The article looks at what immigration actions be taken prior to President Trump leaving office on January 20.

The Trump administration, the article notes, has issued two policies limiting eligibility for H-1B visas, reserved for foreign professionals with college degrees, and raising the minimum salaries that employers must pay their foreign workers. Both of these, which are being challenged in court, Law360 reports, were issued as interim final rules—one of which took effect immediately before public comments were considered.

Higgins, a former Assistant for Policy and Trade Counsel to former House Speaker Paul Ryan, said she believes finalizing H-1B regulations will be a “top priority” for the administration. “I think they will do their absolute best to be able to finalize those in the lame duck, frankly, to make sure any changes that a Biden administration wants to make have to go through the full process,” she said.

Looking ahead to the prospect of comprehensive immigration reform, Pagano, a former Senate liaison in the Obama administration, said that after years of failed efforts, future immigration bills, such as a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals bill, may more likely be passed in smaller parts. “There may be a real appetite to do piecemeal immigration reform,” he said.

Finally, looking at the prospects for Senate confirmation of Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, which might prevent legal challenges to rules finalized under his tenure, Higgins said she has “not heard that that is a priority for the Senate.”