Go Grassley—Restrict H-1Bs

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) deserves applause for his proposed legislation to tighten-up the H-1B visa program, one notorious for allowing U.S. companies, often in high tech-fields, to import foreign workers while excluding Americans. The H-1B law requires the companies to ensure that no Americans are available for job openings before bringing in foreigners, but many companies have creative ways of avoiding this requirement. Their aim is to obtain a workforce less expensive (in wages) than Americans and more subservient.  

Last year Grassley released a study by the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) which found that one out of five H-1B visa applications showed evidence of fraud or other violations.

In a letter to USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas, Grassley said, “Employers need to be held accountable so that foreign workers are not flooding the market, depressing wages, and taking jobs from qualified Americans. Asking the right questions and requesting the necessary documents will go a long way in getting out the fraud in the H-1B program.”  

With almost 15 million Americans out of work and the official rate of unemployment near ten percent, it is good to see someone in Washington doing something to relieve the plight of Americans in need of jobs. Recently AIC received a letter from a tech worker who said that foreign workers with H-1B visas have made it impossible for her to find work in her field, despite 17 years of experience and specialized skills.

As a consequence, she related, “I have about two-and-a-half months left of savings before I will have to call my mortgage company and tell them I can’t pay. Call my car company and tell them I can’t pay. . . . I have already canceled everything I could cancel to save on expenses.”

H-1Bs are part of our economic elites’ plan of globalization. Another part is so-called “free trade.” When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was debated during the early nineties, its supporters conceded that it would cause Americans to lose middle-class manufacturing jobs, but they reassured us not to worry because job losers could always retrain as in the emerging fields of high tech. Now the globalists aim to keep those jobs from us by handing them to foreigners.

Sen. Grassley deserves support for putting the needs of his countrymen first. Unfortunately, there are too few in Congress who share his commitment. Too many are bought and paid for by cheap labor interests. These politicians will not worry about our jobs until we, at the ballot box, make them worry about theirs.