Federal Immigration Rules Spark State Lawsuits and Community Strain

Donald Trump’s second-term immigration policies have imposed entry restrictions on 39 countries, with more than half of those nations ranking among the world’s most exposed to climate-driven displacement, according to an analysis of data from the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative. The pattern shows that countries least equipped to handle rising temperatures, stronger storms and prolonged droughts are now facing the sharpest barriers to legal migration into the United States.

Of the 39 countries subject to full or partial visa pauses or bans, 22 fall in the top quarter of nations most vulnerable to climate impacts. Chad and Niger, ranked as the two most climate-exposed countries globally, are under complete entry prohibitions, as are Sudan, Somalia and Sierra Leone. Honduras, which ranks in the more vulnerable half, has experienced intensified rainfall, droughts and coastal erosion that have compounded food insecurity and displacement pressures in recent years.

The administration has simultaneously expanded fossil-fuel production and rolled back emissions regulations, a combination that researchers say accelerates the very conditions prompting migration from these regions. Danielle Wood, an associate professor at Notre Dame, noted that nearly all of the most vulnerable countries now face some form of entry restriction. The policy shift arrives as extreme weather events continue to destroy homes and livelihoods in places with limited adaptive capacity.

The restrictions extend beyond initial entry. A new Small Business Administration rule bars green-card holders from obtaining agency-backed loans unless their businesses are fully owned by U.S. citizens, a change that has already affected entrepreneurs such as Sayuri Tsuchitani, who used pandemic-era financing to open a chain of Japanese head spas in Los Angeles. Lawmakers have also raised concerns that revised Immigration and Customs Enforcement procedures limit congressional oversight of detention facilities, requiring advance identification of detainees and signed consent forms that some advocates say are difficult for vulnerable individuals to access.

Administration officials have framed the measures as necessary to deter unlawful presence and prioritize enforcement resources. A White House spokesperson stated that deportation of individuals with criminal records remains the top focus. Critics, including immigration researchers at the Cato Institute, argue the cumulative effect is a broad effort to make continued residence untenable regardless of legal status, pushing people toward voluntary departure or preventing new arrivals altogether.

The Notre Dame index measures exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity across multiple sectors. Nations at the top of the list often combine high physical risk with low institutional resources for recovery, creating conditions in which migration becomes one of the few viable responses. The administration’s approach therefore targets populations already facing acute climate stress while advancing energy policies that are projected to intensify those stresses over time.

Data from facility oversight letters sent by House Democrats indicate rising reports of detainee mistreatment and substandard conditions coinciding with the policy expansion. The combination of entry limits, financing barriers and reduced transparency mechanisms has produced a more restrictive environment for both prospective and current immigrants from the affected countries.