MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO’S DESK

I have been to a few immigration law events recently and what I have been learning is critical for leaders to understand as it could have HUGE impacts on companies that employ people on visas.

Trump ran on ending illegal immigration and promised the "largest deportation operation in the history of our country." Eighteen months later, the numbers aren't cooperating. ICE has removed just over 356,000 people through July and is nowhere close to the 2,000-arrests-a-day pace the administration set for itself. That's still short of Obama's 2013 record of 438,000 deportations - the administration is falling short of its own "mass deportation" promise, and everyone involved knows it.

That gap has made enforcement uglier - with masked agents showing up in city streets, hospitals, and courthouses. At least four people have been killed and more than a dozen shot by federal immigration agents since last fall. 

Here's the part that’s relevant for companies - I was at an event hosted by TroopHR and Manifest Law with Manifest’s Immigration Strategy Executive Jeff Joseph, and his read was blunt: the administration can't hit its illegal-immigration targets anymore because it's already arrested most of who it's going to. So it's shifting gears. Immigration enforcement is moving from the border to the org chart toward documented workers, employer compliance, and quiet data-sharing between agencies that didn't used to talk to each other.

This is already happening. The Supreme Court ended TPS protections for Haiti and Syria this summer on its shadow docket, or cases decided quickly and without full briefing. It ruled in Blanche v. Lau that green card holders with any criminal history, even something minor or decades old, now have to prove they should be let back into the country every single time they travel internationally. And a new rule just eliminated open-ended F-1 status, capping student visas at four years and cutting the grace period in half, conveniently gutting the pipeline of international students who'd normally convert into H-1B hires.

Then there's the money. A new prevailing wage rule, expected to hit around September 18, could dramatically increase H-1B salary floors, especially for entry-level roles and expensive metros. We're talking a Silicon Valley software engineer role going from roughly $130K to $195K–$250K on paper. If you sponsor visas, that's a budget line to model NOW.

A few things worth doing this week, courtesy of Jeff and the team at Manifest Law, plus some of my advice sprinkled in:

• Employer compliance is now the core risk area. As attention shifts towards legal immigration, companies need to tighten I-9s and broader immigration compliance processes now.

• Audit your I-9s and purge the records that you're legally allowed to. Don't lean on your PEO for this one - it's worth handling in-house.

• Plan budget scenarios for new H1B legislation. The prevailing wage rule may raise H1B wage requirements significantly, especially for entry-level roles and high-cost markets, so teams should plan budget scenarios early.

• File any LCAs already in your pipeline now, before the new wage rule hits - it locks in today's prevailing wage through June 30, 2027. And get your LCA public access files ready the moment you file, not days later. People are actually calling companies to check compliance and reporting the gaps.

• Tell any permanent resident on your team with a criminal record, even something old or minor, to talk to a lawyer before they book international travel. The burden of proof is now on them at the border, not the government.

I have sat with a coworker (turned friend!) at a previous employer who, during the first Trump administration, came back to her H1B application with a “request for evidence” that resulted in weeks where she couldn’t work or be paid by us. So I know to expect the unexpected. But I certainly didn't expect the pivot attacking legal immigration to be this deliberate, or this fast.

Keep an eye on this one. It's not going away, and it's certainly not staying in Legal's inbox.

THE HR BRIEFING 🗞️

THE LATEST NEWS TO KNOW

HR headlines and stories, curated with our perspective. 🤝

Workplace loneliness is on the rise as employees lean on AI for advice, brainstorming, and even companionship, per a new HR Brew report. In a survey of 2,150 workers, 44% said they'd rather collaborate with AI than people because it's faster and won't challenge them.

• ↪️ PFunc’s Perspective: If your people find a chatbot easier to work with than their own teammates, then that’s a YOU problem. Be intentional by creating opportunities for interaction and collaboration, coach managers to build psychological safety on their teams, and make sure that "AI-first" doesn't turn into "team-last.”

A couple of other stories we think you’d like:

• HR Executive: 54% of US workers say they’d willingly accept a salary reduction in exchange for guaranteed job security and protection against layoffs.

• HR Dive: 35% of workers say their retirement age has moved later due to the cost of living, not earning enough, and not having enough savings.

COMPLIANCE CHECK

Watch out for these HR compliances going into effect (or hitting deadlines) in the next month.

• Nebraska (eff. 8/30) – Employers with more than 5% (down from 10%) of non-English speaking employees must make an interpreter available at each worksite and shift.

• New Hampshire (eff. 8/31) –  Independent contractors can voluntarily participate in portable benefits plans funded by optional hiring party contributions without jeopardizing their contractor status.

• Federal (eff. 9/30) – Calendar-year ERISA benefit plans need to get their Summary Annual Reports into employees' hands by September 30.

THE OPPORTUNITY EXCHANGE 📈

ROLES ON OUR RADAR

The PFunc job board is packed with open roles across our client companies, making it easier than ever to tap into our network.

This week, we’re highlighting the latest job openings in our network.

• Staff Robotics Engineer, Bedrock Ocean Exploration - Own the overarching software and autonomy architecture across underwater vehicle fleets, aligning GNC, sensing, fault management, and practical AI.

• Global Regulatory Affairs Lead, OATH - Provide strategic oversight for regional regulatory projects, monitor international policy shifts, and ensure high-level compliance across all jurisdictions for smooth commercial market entry and sustained growth.

• Senior Motion Designer, Porto Rocha - Work on motion identity systems, motion projects and 2D animation with a deep understanding of branding, strong attention to detail, and collaborative communication skills.

See a role you’re interested in? Reply to this email and we’ll try to connect you with the hiring team. Hiring for an open role yourself? Reply to have your job featured in an upcoming PFunc Pulse issue.

CHRONICALLY ONLINE📱

We tried poking the bear this week at PFunc with some questions we knew our team would… love?

Join 100,000+ followers across PFunc’s Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn, hailed as “one of the best HR accounts online today.” 😉

STAY IN TOUCH 💌

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Join the Talent Network here (it’s free!). Whether you’re actively exploring new opportunities or happily employed but open to the right fit, becoming part of our network boosts your profile when roles align with your experience, skills, and career goals.💡

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Every Tuesday, The PFunc Pulse delivers the HR news and compliance shifts you actually need to know about, without all the corporate fluff. Emma brings her unfiltered take on the trends keeping CEOs awake at night, served with the gritty, practical wisdom of a founder who’s seen it all. Real talk for better people decisions, week by week. (P.S. Do your work bestie a favor and forward this— friends don't let friends do old school HR. 🫢)