How Trump's immigration crackdown is reshaping financial industry hiring, travel, and dealmaking
For firms that rely on talent from abroad and travel across borders to strike deals, the stakes are high. While no one's been grounded yet, anxieties are mounting in some corners, leading to more cautious travel plans and cross-border hiring pivots. It's also changing the M&A landscape, with more dealmakers scrutinizing immigration compliance before agreeing to buy a US company.
Business Insider spoke to lawyers, executives, and investment leaders to understand how stepped-up border security and other immigration policies are changing daily life in finance — and what might come next. Here is what we learned, from staffing to M&A to business travel.
Dealmaking
Trump's immigration crackdown is forcing investors to examine the employee base of US companies they may be looking to acquire more closely, said Ted Chiappari, partner and head of immigration at the law firm Duane Morris.
"We're working on one merger acquisition now, and that's their phase one," said Chiappari. "They want to check out the staffing first to make sure that their I-9s are in order before they go forward with the rest of the deal."
Federal law requires that anyone hired to work in the US fill out a I-9 to verify their identity and employment authorization. Chiappari said it's long been a required piece of M&A due diligence but that many investors treat it as an "afterthought."
"If they even considered it at all, they would just sort of shrug their shoulders and say, 'Look, if we get hit with a I-9 audit, we'll pay whatever penalties there are,'" he said.
He added that Trump's policies are prompting firms to move the 1-9 due diligence component up the priority list. Failure to do so could mean getting stuck running a company without enough employees.
"They're concerned because that really affects the viability of the business if they end up losing 25% of their workforce or end up having to pay a lot more money to find replacements," he said.
Travel
Isha Atassi, a partner with the law firm Fragomen in New York, said her financial clients are largely taking a "business as usual" approach to travel — even as other sectors take a more aggressive stance, issuing advisories or tightening guidance around international travel.
Anxieties over travel are on the rise, however.
Mark Dowding, chief investment officer of RBC's BlueBay unit, said neither he nor his team has slowed their travel. However, the British citizen is more worried than before about being turned away at the border, in part because he writes a weekly note that has occasionally been critical of Trump's policies.
"I know I'm taking a personal risk, but I'm putting myself out there," he said, adding, "If they say I can't come in, then I can't come in. So be it."
Concerns over border crossing are also leading to more conversations about travel visas and how to talk to border agents.
"We have seen a lot more efforts to educate as to what should be said or what can be done," said Chiappari. He pointed, as an example, to a professional coming to the US for a business meeting or conference. While it's technically work, it's not "producing something in the US," he said, which might mean avoiding calling it "work" when talking to border agents.
"We generally avoid the W word" at the border, he said.
Hiring and staffing
Companies outside the US are viewing the US crackdown as a potential poaching opportunity. For example, Danny Yong, chief investment officer of Dymon Asia, a Singapore-based hedge fund with offices across Asia, said his firm is targeting immigrant portfolio managers based in the US who might be interested in returning home.
Immigration lawyers said they're seeing little to no slowdown in the financial industry's appetite for foreign labor, however, although the process is taking longer than before.
"There is an understanding that the process may take longer and may be met with more challenges by way of requests for evidence or denials, and we are helping to manage timing expectations and flagging high-risk cases," said Atassi of the Fragomen law firm.
One reason is that financial firms tend to have a lot of overseas offices, so if a firm hires someone who doesn't get the right US visa, they can just park them in a non-US office for a few years.
"They have money, and so if they've got a superstar on their team, transferring someone to the London office for a year or two is just not going to make or break," said Chiappari. "It's a rounding error for these companies."
Wall Street stars also have more visa options than, say, the average data scientist, Chiappari said. He pointed to O-1 visa, which is reserved for people who have reached national or international acclaim and sit at the top of their fields.
"It's just a lot easier for a Morgan Stanley or a JPMorgan to say, 'This person's exceptional,'" he said, especially if they are responsible for "frontpage deals that everyone's heard about.'"
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mercer International Second Quarter 2025 Earnings: US$1.29 loss per share (vs US$1.01 loss in 2Q 2024)
Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Second Quarter 2025 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: US$453.5m (down 9.2% from 2Q 2024). Net loss: US$86.1m (loss widened by 27% from 2Q 2024). US$1.29 loss per share (further deteriorated from US$1.01 loss in 2Q 2024). Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Mercer International Earnings Insights Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 8.5% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, compared to a 3.4% growth forecast for the Forestry industry in the US. Performance of the American Forestry industry. The company's shares are down 24% from a week ago. Risk Analysis Be aware that Mercer International is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis that you should know about... Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data


The Hill
5 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump says he hasn't been asked to pardon Maxwell, Santos, likely won't pardon Diddy
President Trump said he hasn't been asked to pardon disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein's longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell or former Rep. Geroge Santos (R-N.Y.), adding that he likely would not give a pardon to rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs. The president was asked about the three individuals serving prison sentences in a Newsmax interview that aired on Friday. 'They have talked to me about Sean, but they haven't talked to me about the two,' he told host Rob Finnerty. When asked if he would grant clemency for Maxwell — who is serving a 20-year prison sentence — in exchange for her testimony, Trump replied, 'I'm allowed to do it. But nobody's asked me to do it.' 'I know nothing about it. I don't know anything about the case, but I know I have the right to do it,' the president continued. 'I have the right to give pardons. I've given pardons to people before, but nobody's even asked me to do it.' The president has previously said he hadn't thought about a pardon for Maxwell, who recently met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the administration faces increasing pressure to release more information from the Epstein files. An attorney for the convicted sex offender also has said he hasn't talked to Trump about a potential pardon. The Justice Department earlier last month released a memo concluding Epstein, a convicted sex offender, died by suicide and did not keep a client list, leading to massive outrage from within the Republican Party. Meanwhile, Trump also didn't rule out a pardon for Santos, who surrendered for a 7-year sentence last week after pleading guilty to federal wire fraud and identity theft charges. The president said, 'He lied like hell.' 'And I didn't know him, but he was 100 percent for Trump,' he continued, adding that 'his vote was solid' when he was in Congress. The president also said that no one has talked to him about a pardon for the former GOP lawmaker, who was expelled from the House in 2023. Santos has said he will be seeking clemency from Trump. 'You know, you could blame the other side for not checking him out,' Trump told Finnerty. 'He didn't do all those things that he said… you could say the media missed it. Everybody missed it. They found out about this stuff after the election was won.' On if he would consider a pardon for Combs, who was acquitted last month of sex trafficking and racketeering and convicted of lesser prostitution-related offenses, Trump said Combs is 'half innocent.' He cited though that the rapper was friendly to him before his political career and then didn't support him when he ran for president. 'I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great, and he seemed like a nice guy. I didn't know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile,' Trump told Newsmax 'And it's hard, you know? I'm like you, we're human beings, right? And we don't like to have things cloud our judgment, right?' 'But when you knew someone and you were fine and then you run for office and he made some terrible statements, so I don't know, it's more difficult,' the president added. 'It makes it more — I'm being honest — it makes it more difficult to do.' When asked if it's more likely that he would not grant Combs clemency, Trump replied, 'I would say so.' when pressed on a pardon for him.

Miami Herald
18 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Young climate activists meet in Miami. Trump has changed their agenda
Young climate activists from across the U.S. are gathering in Miami for a major conference this weekend to learn how to draft and advocate for policies that could shape the world they'll soon inherit. 'This is our future, and a lot of times we don't even have a say,' said Parishay Azer, a 17-year-old from California. 'But with conferences like these, our opinions are heard and it gives us the confidence to go to other places and speak out.' For the past three years, the Local Conference of Youth (LCOY) has collaborated with the federal government to produce a national youth climate statement outlining recommendations for the how the U.S. should deal with spiraling concerns, from rising temperatures to more extreme weather events. This year, things look different. Under the Trump administration, federal engagement has dried up. Agencies that previously supported the youth-led effort, including the White House Climate Policy Office and the State Department's climate negotiation team, have been dissolved. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has also pulled back support. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, meanwhile, wants to largely end regulation of greenhouse gases driving much of the global climate problems Despite the setbacks, organizers say the youth movement is looking for ways to adapt as they meet at the University of Miami's alumni center and law school this weekend after a beach cleanup early Friday. Coco de Marneffe, LCOY's lead coordinator, said the federal pullout was discouraging but they were shifting focus from federal authorities to local and state representatives. South Florida counties have lead the way in acknowledging the mounting problems and already have spent billions to reduce the risks of sea-rise and other climate-driven concerns. The statement crafted at this year's conference will still be presented on national and international stages, including the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP) in Brazil this year. 'Our federal government isn't showing up and if civil society doesn't show up we could be left out of the international discussion,' Marneffe said. The LCOY conference will bring together students and young adults from 40 different states. The youngest delegate is a 12-year-old from New Jersey and the oldest is a 35-year-old from Florida. At a beach cleanup Friday morning ahead of the event, many delegates told the Herald they remain determined to push for local change, even as federal climate policy backslides. Morgan Brown, a 25-year-old from Denver, Colorado said the news surrounding the White House pull back on research and regulation is overwhelming, 'but we can still create change in our local governments.' Nitya Nekkauti, a university student from Ohio, said the conference offers a rare chance to share strategies across state lines. 'Since we are focusing on the state level, it's a good chance to compare issues in different states and take ideas from each other,' she said. Marneffe said they chose Miami as the conference's location to show students what ground zero for climate change looks like. Throughout the weekend, delegates will attend workshops on policy writing, speaking to politicians and grassroots organizing. They'll also hear from local leaders, including State Rep. Anna Eskamani, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, and Miccosukee environmentalist Betty Osceola. 'South Florida is no stranger to a hostile political climate, and Floridians are on the front lines,' Marneffe said. 'The youth who will inherit this messy, messy world represent the best of us.' Ashley Miznazi is a climate change reporter for the Miami Herald funded by the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Family Foundation and MSC Cruises in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners.