News Round Up 6/23/ – 6/29/2025 Part 3

For Businesses: Labor shortages and higher costs threaten profitability.

Economic Impact: Reduced labor supply and inflation could subtract 0.2% from GDP growth in 2025 Brookings Institution, 2024.

Quotes and Perspectives

Elon Musk, Tesla CEO: “H-1B visas are a great program for innovation. Restrictions hurt our ability to compete globally” X post.

Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase CEO: “Immigration is a positive for America. But we also need to protect our borders” CNBC.

Rebecca Shi, American Business Immigration Coalition: “Businesses are pleading for an end to the crackdown, as it’s disrupting their operations” The Washington Post.

2. Business Resilience Amid Immigration Crackdowns

Background Information

Retail and finance sectors are less affected by immigration crackdowns due to reliance on domestic labor and automation. Immigrants are concentrated in low-wage sectors like construction (29%) and hospitality (26%), making these industries more vulnerable Economic Policy Institute, 2023. Google employed approximately 8,000 H-1B visa holders in 2020, suggesting reliance but less than outsourcing firms like Infosys, which had over 13,000 H-1B approvals in 2020 USCIS H-1B Data, 2020.

Headline and Summary

Retail and Finance Thrive Despite Immigration Crackdowns
While agriculture and hospitality face labor shortages, retail and finance sectors remain resilient, leveraging domestic workers and technology, though tariff-driven inflation poses challenges.

Details of the Event

Retail giants like Walmart and finance firms like JPMorgan Chase report minimal disruption, relying on U.S.-born workers and automation The Wall Street Journal.

Proposed tariffs are increasing costs, impacting supply chains and consumer prices The Wall Street Journal.

Tech firms like Google, while reliant on H-1B workers, are less affected than outsourcing firms due to domestic talent pipelines.