People have long chosen to move to other countries that have much more repressive/restrictive immigration regimes. For example, the Gulf countries, or even Singapore where you have to renew your re-entry permit regularly. As an naturalized citizen myself, and observing how recent immigrants from my home country have reacted to this administration's enforcement steps, what I guess will have to happen is that various populations may shift their perception of the options available to them and how to hedge against risks.

The relative ease of transitioning to a permanent status meant there was a greater incentive to invest in living in the US, both in material and cultural terms. That may now diminish, and immigrants may remit more of their wealth as a hedge. For immigrants of some countries, that has already been something on the mind now since much before even the first Trump administration. Even transitioning to permanent status has become much harder, leave alone obtaining citizenship.

Maybe this administration's stricter (and scarier style of) enforcement may spur that shift now, but it would have been foolish of immigrants from some countries to have not paid attention at all to the changing conditions over the last 10-15 years.

As a citizen, it saddens me that this administration is reducing incentives for new immigrants to invest here - buy properties, start businesses, start relationships etc. Immigrants will still come to make what they can, and then leave with all that experience and some of those assets, when that could have benefited the country. I am of course hardly the only person noticing how the drive to satisfy the nativist vote is leaving us kicking this gift horse in the mouth.