{"id":22370,"date":"2020-01-06T15:21:41","date_gmt":"2020-01-06T20:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/?p=22370"},"modified":"2020-01-06T15:22:48","modified_gmt":"2020-01-06T20:22:48","slug":"dhs-low-skill-foreign-workers-immigrationreform-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2020\/01\/06\/dhs-low-skill-foreign-workers-immigrationreform-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress Waves Through More Low-Skill Work Visas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The carnival industry<\/a>, among others, is upset that Nancy Pelosi & Co. didn\u2019t adopt a requirement doubling the number of low-skill work visas in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But\nthe show will most certainly go on. Dodging a straight-up vote to increase,\nCongress retained language authorizing the Department of Homeland Security\n(DHS) to double the cap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the meantime, the Department of Labor is doing its bit to recruit H-2B foreign laborers by hosting a government-administered job website<\/a>. Employers seeking landscapers, construction crews, waitresses, forestry workers and even circus barkers (to name just a few) no longer need to place help-wanted ads in the communities they serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n None of\nthis is good news for America\u2019s blue-collar workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn passing the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (HR 1865<\/a>). Congress showed contempt for the most vulnerable American workers,\u201d scolded Numbers USA<\/a>, an immigration enforcement group. \u201cSome 50 million working-age Americans are still outside the labor force and need to be brought in. Employers should recruit them, rather than importing cheap foreign labor through an exploited visa program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n By retaining a provision inserted by then-House Speaker Paul Ryan in 2017, HR 1865 authorizes DHS to approve another 69,000 H-2B work permits once companies grab the first 69,000 visas. The Ryan rule essentially invites business groups and legislators to pressure DHS executives in closed-door meetings for extra H-2Bs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn 2019, DHS officials released roughly 30,000 extra H-2Bs amid this backroom pressure \u2014 with opposite pressure from the White House to follow the president\u2019s Inauguration Day demand to \u2018Hire American.\u2019 In 2020, the H-2B population in the United States is likely to climb above 100,000,\u201d Breitbart News<\/a> reported last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though\n100,000 is smaller than the cadre of H-1B (\u201cskilled\u201d) visa holders admitted\ninto the U.S. annually, the H-2B program presents its share of problems. By\nenabling employers to avoid available U.S. workers, the H-2B program depresses\nopportunities for American workers with low education and skill levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n H-2B jobs may be menial, but wages can be higher<\/a> than the national minimum hourly rate of $7.25. The ability of employers to import H-2B workers at will artificially depresses pay scales and discourages Americans from seeking these positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, many H-2B jobs are in states where qualified workers are available, and do not actually have labor shortages<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lawmakers can also do more encourage Americans to jump into the labor pool. In Colorado, which ranks just behind Texas and Florida for H-2B visas, one newspaper has suggested a work requirement for able-bodied adults on Medicaid<\/a>, who make up 45 percent of Medicaid recipients in that state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps the biggest drawbacks to H-2B and other foreign-labor schemes are the workers who don\u2019t go home when their temporary visas expire. While surges of migrants across our southern border grab the headlines, visa overstays<\/a> represent a significant portion of illegal aliens who settle in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of\nhanding out evermore work permits to foreigners, the federal government needs\nto get a handle on their comings and goings. That\u2019s a job DHS must do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The carnival industry, among others, is upset that Nancy Pelosi & Co. didn\u2019t adopt a requirement doubling the number of low-skill work visas in 2020. But the show will most certainly go on. Dodging a straight-up vote to increase, Congress retained language authorizing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to double the cap. In the<\/p>\n