I see lots of comments about the legal minutiae around this -- but as a non-US person I'd like to understand the motivation. Straight-up nativist discriminatio

I see lots of comments about the legal minutiae around this -- but as a non-US person I'd like to understand the motivation. Straight-up nativist discrimination? This kind of technical measure would seem to be hard to sell to the MAGA base, compared to something more blatant? Or is this somehow a favour for their corporate clients?