Trump's new H-1B rules try to score "political points": US Democrats

 

In a move that will affect thousands of Indian IT professionals, the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday announced a temporary final rule, which the Trump administration said aims to protect American workers.

Washington:

The US Democratic Party has criticized President Donald Trump for announcing “sweeping changes” to the H-1B non-immigrant visa program in decades without public scrutiny, saying it was clearly an attempt to score political points at the last minute before 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 temporary end rule, which the Trump administration said aims to protect American workers, restore integrity, and ensure that H-1b only petitions are approved. For eligible beneficiaries and petitioners.

“With less than 30 days left before the election date, the Trump administration has submitted that it will implement the most complete amendments to the H-1B visa application that we have considered for a long time - and it will. And Jerrold Nadler, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday that the notification is daily The method of arrest required under the Administrative Procedures Law. "

A New York Democrat said that while the program can certainly benefit from the reforms, US laws require that the public be provided with adequate notice and a real opportunity to be suspended before these reforms are implemented.

Nadler said, "This in fact cannot be carried out to the required certification by means of a summary final rule and the administration is aware of this. This is clearly an attempt to categorize the political factors at the last minute."

The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialized occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

Tech companies rely on them to employ tens of thousands of employees every year from countries like India and China.

Such a choice across the Trump administration would have a dismal impact on hundreds of Indian IT professionals. The huge number of Indians who hold H-1B visas have misplaced their jobs and are back local again throughout the coronavirus pandemic that has hit the US economic system hard.

Zoe Lovegreen, chair of the Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee, said she has over the years introduced several bills that would reform the H-1B program to ban low wages and ensure that unscrupulous employers do not abuse the system at the expense of American workers.

“While the system needs updating and changes, it should not be rushed without adequate input from the public.

On top of that, Congress set very clear criteria when it created the H-1B program and the administration has recognized that the new DHS act will affect more than a third of H-1B petitions that have been legally filed and approved for decades, and added that it also expects this quickly by the court as It was the case with a lot of the "illegal" policies of this administration.

In response to criticism, ruling Republican Party leaders said the move would address abuses in the highly-skilled guest worker program used to "displace" US workers with low-wage foreign workers.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley praised the Trump administration's move to "crack down on widespread violations" under the H-1B visa program.

“I have long expressed my concern that the H-1B program, as it currently operates, undermines wages and employment opportunities for American workers and contains inadequate protections for American and immigrant workers alike.

“Instead of being used to fill legitimate gaps in the workforce, the H-1B program is often abused to replace American workers with cheap visitor labor. This abuse has to stop and I am very much in favor of the effort,” Grassley said.

The Department of Homeland Security said on Wednesday that while the program aims to allow employers to fill gaps in their workforce and maintain their competitive edge in the global economy, it has expanded much further, often at the expense of American workers.

The data shows that more than half a million H-1B immigrants in the United States have been used to displace American workers, resulting in lower wages in a number of industries and stagnant wages in some occupations, she said.

In a separate statement, the move was opposed by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

Jennifer Minier, AILA President, said that foreign workers play a vital role in the US economy, but that these regulations will create nearly insurmountable barriers to hiring them.

“These rules not only make immigrants inappropriately scapegoats for dealing with the ills of our current economic slowdown, they also lead to self-defeat. These rules will undoubtedly derail a process that has proven to bring some of the best and smartest worlds into American companies. American workers