Hartford Business Journal

14 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 10, 2025 Dana Bucin is a partner in the immigration practice group of law firm Harris Beach Murtha. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Trump administration's undocumented workers crackdown raises concerns for some CT employers mending applying for an employ- er-sponsored green card. "Permanent residence really is the ultimate protection that every- body's after — it's like the Holy Grail of immigration law," she said. "And this is what we've been very busy lately doing." It's no quick fix. Bucin says processing times were already getting longer under the Biden admin- istration, and it can now take between two and three years to obtain a green card. But, by sponsoring a worker through the process, she believes an employer can give a signal to the authorities. "Overwhelmingly, employers are here to tell you that they need more, not less, labor. This is not the proper time to round up folks and deport them, especially folks gainfully employed already in our economy," she said. "The hope is that ICE will not spend taxpayers' money to go after people who are wanted here permanently." Connecticut, like many states, has been dealing with a labor shortage since the 2020 pandemic. The state currently has about 75,000 job open- ings, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Preparedness plan Retaining workers is not the only thing on employers' minds as the Trump administration ramps up its mass deportation program. There's By Harriet Jones hjones@hartfordbusiness.com D ana Bucin describes some of her clients as "panicking." "The calls that have gotten to me are overwhelmingly from construction, carpentry, landscaping, restaurant and hospitality, some agricultural," said Bucin, a partner in the immigration practice group of law firm Harris Beach Murtha. "These are the fields where we have a lot of folks in either temporary statuses or undocumented." What's concerning those busi- nesses is the Trump administra- tion's overwhelming early focus on deporting undocumented workers. Bucin just spoke with a construc- tion business that wants to retain three Ukrainian employees who are currently in the country on temporary protected status, or TPS. "They bring a lot of skills from Ukraine in that field of construction and carpentry," she said. "Employers are reaching out, out of concern for their employees who they consider valuable and who have a skill set they desire." TPS applies to an estimated 1 million people in the U.S. from a wide range of countries — from Afghani- stan to Yemen. The status is granted by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to people who are unable to return home safely because of wars, natural disasters, epidemics or other threats to safety in their country of origin. One of President Donald Trump's first-day executive orders directed a review of TPS designations made under the Biden administration, meaning this protection could be removed for many people, leaving them vulnerable to deportation. And that's not the only major change that may be on the way. Many other employees are protected under DACA, or deferred action for childhood arrivals. "I believe there's a high risk that (the DACA program) will go away," Bucin said. "So, you need a status like an H-1B in order to stay in this country." No quick fix H-1B visas apply to skilled workers, usually in white-collar jobs, and are awarded via a lottery system. The window to enter this year's lottery is coming up in March, so Bucin says now is a good time for employers to get their paperwork in order for workers they'd like to sponsor for a visa. In fiscal year 2024, 633 employers in Connecticut applied for H-1B visas on behalf of their workers, according to the federal U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency. A total of 2,957 beneficiaries were approved for H-1B visas in the state last fiscal year. Connecticut companies with the most approved H-1B visa beneficiaries included Yale University (262), Quest Global Services-NA Inc. (88), Cyient Inc. (68), Synchrony Bank (66) and UConn (60). But many undocumented or vulner- able employees are in the skilled trades or unskilled work, neither of which are eligible for the visa system. In that case, Bucin says, she's recom-

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