Donald Trump’s administration has unveiled a tightening of the rules for immigration visas to the United States. (File)
Washington:
The US Democratic Party has slammed President Donald Trump for announcing “sweeping changes” to the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program for decades without public scrutiny, saying it was clearly an attempt to score last-minute political issues ahead of the November 3 presidential election.
In a move that will affect thousands of Indian IT professionals, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday announced the interim final rule, which the Trump administration says is aimed at protecting American workers, restoring l ‘integrity and better ensure that H -1B petitions are only approved for beneficiaries and qualified petitioners.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said on Wednesday: “With less than 30 days before the election, the Trump administration has announced it will implement the most sweeping changes to the H-1B visa program which we have seen for decades – and will do so by circumventing the normal process of notice and comment required by the Administrative Procedure Act. “
The New York Democrat said that while the program can certainly benefit from reforms, US laws require that the public be given sufficient notice and a meaningful opportunity to comment before such reforms are implemented.
“This simply cannot be accomplished to the extent required by an interim final rule and the administration knows that. This is clearly an attempt to score last minute political points,” Nadler said.
The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows U.S. businesses to employ foreign workers in skilled occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
Tech companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees every year in countries like India and China.
Such a move by the Trump administration will negatively impact thousands of Indian IT professionals. Already, large numbers of Indians holding H-1B visas have lost their jobs and returned home during the coronavirus pandemic that has severely hit the U.S. economy.
Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee chair Zoe Lofgren said over the years she had introduced several bills to reform the H-1B program to ban wages below standards and ensure that unscrupulous employers do not abuse the system to the detriment of American workers.
“Although the system needs to be updated, to change, it should not be rushed without adequate input from the public.
“In addition, Congress set very clear parameters when creating the H-1B program and the administration admitted that the new DHS rule will affect more than a third of the H-1B petitions legally filed and approved since. decades, “she said, adding that she expects this too to be promptly ordered by the court as has been the case with so many” illegal “policies of this administration.
Reacting to the criticism, leaders of the ruling Republican Party said the move would address abuses in the highly skilled guest worker program used to “displace” American workers by low-paid foreign labor.
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley applauded the Trump administration’s decision to “crack down on widespread abuse” under the H-1B visa program.
“I have long been concerned that the H-1B program, as it currently operates, undermines the wages and employment opportunities of American workers and contains inadequate protections for American and immigrant workers.
“Instead of being used to fill legitimate gaps in the workforce, the H-1B program is often abused to simply replace American workers with cheap host labor. This abuse must stop. and I strongly support the efforts, ”Mr. Grassley said.
DHS said on Wednesday that while the program was aimed at empowering employers to fill their workforce gaps and remain competitive in the global economy, it has spread far beyond, often to the detriment of workers. Americans.
Data shows that over half a million H-1B nonimmigrants in the United States have been used to displace American workers, leading to declining wages in a number of industries and stagnating wages in certain occupations, he said.
In a separate statement, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) opposed the decision.
AILA President Jennifer Minear said foreign workers play a vital role in the U.S. economy, but these regulations will create almost insurmountable barriers to their hiring.
“Not only do these rules inappropriately make immigrants scapegoats for the evils of the current economic recession, but they are also self-defeating. These rules will no doubt hamper a process that has been proven to bring in some of the best and brightest in the world. world in American business. American workers and businesses will only suffer from these changes until these rules are challenged and overturned in court, “he said.
“Contrary to the narrative promoted by DHS and DOL and taken up by restrictive groups, these rules will have crippling effects on American businesses and the economy in general,” said Benjamin Johnson, executive director of AILA.
“These regulations will lay the groundwork for the pricing of foreign labor, which is critical to the solvency of countless US companies. Under the guise of an economic recovery, the government is essentially stopping the pipeline of global talent needed for innovation. and economic success, ”Mr. Johnson added.
