Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) says Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Chad Wolf is “prioritizing cheap foreign labor” with his announcement to bring more H-2B foreign visa workers to the United States to compete against working class Americans for jobs.
On Thursday, Wolf said DHS would allow American businesses to import an additional 35,000 H-2B foreign visa workers to fill U.S. jobs in the construction, fishing, meatpacking, restaurant, and hospitality industry.
Cotton said Wolf’s decision — which marks the third consecutive year that Trump’s DHS has increased the H-2B foreign visa workflow — merely prioritizes “cheap foreign labor” over working class and blue-collar Americans.
“Raising the limit of H-2B visas means prioritizing cheap foreign labor over paying better wages for American workers to do the same jobs,” Cotton said. “We need true reform that supports American employment and wage growth over low-cost foreign labor.”
Raising the limit of H-2B visas means prioritizing cheap foreign labor over paying better wages for American workers to do the same jobs.
We need true reform that supports American employment and wage growth over low-cost foreign labor. foxnews.com/politics/dhs-l…
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Every year, U.S. companies are allowed to import 66,000 low-skilled H-2B foreign workers to take blue-collar, non-agricultural jobs. For some time, the H-2B visa program has been used by businesses to bring in cheaper, foreign workers and has contributed to blue-collar Americans having their wages undercut.
In a January letter, Cotton, Richard Blumenthal, Dianne Feinstein, Chuck Grassley, and Dick Durbin pleaded with Wolf not to increase the number of H-2B foreign visa workers:
While we understand the needs of employers who legitimately rely on seasonal H-2B workers if American workers cannot meet the demand, we continue to have concerns about the harmful impact that the program has on both American workers and foreign guest workers. Studies have shown that the H-2B visa program leaves immigrant workers vulnerable to wage theft, abuse, and trafficking. [Emphasis added]
Because they are often at the mercy of their employers, H-2B workers may also be too scared to speak out against poor working conditions. They may also have difficulties accessing the justice system to protect themselves from employer retaliation if they do speak out. These realities of the H-2B program, as it operates today, incentivize unscrupulous employers to hire H-2B workers instead of American workers and create poor working conditions for...
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2 comments:
It seems so easy to me how to fix the guest worker programs to almost everyone's benefit. I've written suggestions to my Senators and Congress people but I never hear anything but stock acknowledgements.
It also prioritizes bringing in the corona virus.
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