A minor white pill brings us some good news among the Trump Administrations failures on the border. Denials of first-time applications for H-1B non-immigrant visas (NIV) are up significantly. Good news all round, especially with denials by the State Department of immigrant visas (IV) up as well.

Denial rates for high-skilled worker visas have quadrupled since 2015, a trend that makes it much harder for companies that rely on these workers to find and retain talent. According to data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, denial rates for first-time H-1B visa applicants increased from 6 percent to 24 percent between fiscal years 2015 and 2018. And the trend is growing. Through the first half of fiscal year 2019, USCIS denied 33 percent of initial H-1B visa applications, data shows. [Guest Worker Visas Are Being Denied At Record Rates, by Gustavo Solis, SDUT, August 19, 2019]

And for immigrants as well:

When Arturo Balbino, a Texas construction worker, walked into his visa interview at the American consulate in the northern Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez in March, he wasn’t nervous. He felt good. When he went for the interview, he was at the final step of legalizing his status, which would, he hoped, pave the way for a more stable life for himself and his family. Instead, the consular officer denied his application on the grounds that he could become a drain on U.S. taxpayers by requiring government financial assistance, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. That decision stranded Balbino in Mexico indefinitely and upended his family’s life. More and more aspiring immigrants—especially Mexicans—are being denied visas based on determinations by the U.S. State Department that they might become “public charges,” dependent on the government for support, according to official data and interviews with attorneys, immigrants and their family members. [Denials Of U.S. Immigrant Visas Skyrocket After Little-Heralded Rule Change, by Yeganeh Torbati and Kristina Cooke, Reuters, April 15, 2019]

It is surprising that Consular Officers in the Department of State are implementing this Trump policy, I only expected resistance from those types. But small victories are still victories. This does bring us to the question as to why we are getting only small victories when President Trump can implement such better policies with his executive authority. Why not force Mexico to deport third country nationals trying to invade the United States? Why not deploy the Brown Water Navy to the Rio Grande? Why not order widespread raids on illegal aliens? Why not use Social Security data to track down illegal aliens? Why not arrest alien smugglers? Why not arrest Sanctuary City leaders? One wonders why President Trump is not doing what he should, like arresting James Comey.