Good day all. I’ve written about the problems with the H1B Visa program for years. The program was set up do allow foreign workers with certain skill sets to come into the United States for specific projects. Instead, it was subverted as a way for corporations to import cheap labor and not hire Americans.
There have been complaints about this program going back decades, but with the hold the Chamber of Commerce lobby had on the Republicans, nothing was done, until now. Then came President Trump. He intended to deal with this in his first term, but had to deal with other issues. Now that he’s back in office and with a mandate, his team in the Labor Department is now doing real investigations. Here are the details from Newsmax:
The Labor Department’s new enforcement push, Project Firewall, which is aimed at ensuring American workers come first in hiring decisions, has opened 175 investigations into potential H-1B visa abuse, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer told Newsmax on Tuesday.
“Project Firewall is to protect the American worker,” Chavez-DeRemer told Newsmax’s “Newsline.” “This administration has been very clear about looking through the lens of the American worker first.”
The secretary said she personally signed the investigations, marking the first time in U.S. history a Department of Labor secretary has done so, as part of an effort to ensure companies are complying with the law.
In Trump’s first administration, Alexander Acosta was the Secretary of Labor, He had been recommended to President Trump. When Acosta resigned, he was succeeded by Eugene Scalia. Neither were all that notable. When President Trump was reelected, he was far more prepared to staff the various departments then he was in his first term. This time he selected Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
She noted that employers must “advertise to the American worker first” before turning to foreign hires through the H-1B visa program. And if that is not happening, Chavez-DeRemer said, the government can potentially bar a company from participating in the H-1B visa program in the future.
One of the problems with this is that American companies will advertise a position. The problem is that the HR departments will “Cook” the algorithms to reject pretty much any American candidate. This isn’t a conspiracy theory. Human Resource people have been filmed admitting to this and explaining it was corporate policy.
Chavez-DeRemer said Project Firewall was designed to “put everyone on notice” that the Labor Department will act against those who undermine U.S. workers’ opportunities.
Since President Trump returned to the Oval Office, we have been seeing ICE and Border Patrol raids on a number of businesses. Most of these have been chasing illegal aliens. However, the followup isn’t being reported since it goes against the narratives. All those jobs suddenly opening up saw American citizens and legal resident aliens applying for them.
One of the issues with the H1B visas is that the visa holders are basically wage slaves. They can’t quit the job and look for another one. If they leave the job, their visa is no longer valid and they have to vacate the premises, in this case, The United States. Since they’re trapped, they aren’t paid what an American would be. Add to that, most or working through a contracting agency and that agency is getting most of the money. Then you get Walmart. I suspect this was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
With these investigations, I want to know one thing. Will there be prosecutions? Will there be massive and painful fines? Until we see senior level people, including Directors, Vice Presidents and a CEO or three locked up, and a company basically bankrupted, we won’t see any changes in corporate behavior. Personally, I think it’s time to end the H1B visa program. It long ago outlived it’s usefulness.
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