President Donald Trump's latest proclamations reveal a crackdown on legal pathways into the country while selling citizenship to the highest bidder.

Protestors hold flags and signs as they line the Dunlavy Street bridge over I-69 in Houston in this Sunday, June 8, 2025 file photo.

President Donald Trump has prioritized immigration policy ever since he denigrated Mexican migrants in 2015. His latest proclamations show a crackdown on legal pathways while auctioning citizenship to the wealthy.

Trump recently proposed charging employers $100,000 for every H-1B visa, the main avenue for foreign workers entering the United States. The government issues 65,000 regular H-1B visas a year for overseas workers to presumably fill jobs Americans can't, plus 20,000 to international students who’ve obtained advanced degrees from U.S. universities.

The fee is part of a broader shift to curb immigration.

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“They really do want to cut immigration, and they want to make it as difficult as possible and as restrictive as possible,” said Charles Foster, a nationally recognized immigration attorney in Houston who advised Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. “People won’t be able to legally immigrate if you kill every option.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick explained the administration wants to force U.S. companies to stop hiring........

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