US senator Ruben Gallego penned a letter to the Trump administration in which he called out large corporations’ use of the ‘specialty occupation’s H-1B visa program responsible for bringing in foreign highly skilled worker to the United States. The letter dated December 3, 2025, the Democratic politician from Arizona addressed Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow and Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
Although the US Department of Labor launched Project Firewall in September to double down on its enforcement of the H-1B visa program, Gallego called out several burning questions about the initiative’s workings and how it would tackle “H-1B fraud.”
US senator asks Trump admin to strengthen oversight of H-1B visa use
In the official document visible online, he raised the repeatedly reiterated concern about how tech companies are highly reliant on H-1B workers, and are continuing to hire them while American workers are being laid off left and right.
“I write regarding a concerning trend in the technology and banking sectors: companies are increasingly hiring foreign workers on temporary H-1B visas while simultaneously laying off American workers,” he began the letter. His prime intent was to urge the Trump government to ramp up its oversight of large corporations’ use of the nonimmigrant visa program.
However, Gallego also acknowledged that immigration programs, when appropriately enforced, boosts economic growth, in turn creating “good-paying jobs for American workers.” And so, he made it a point to foreground that that such programs are not availed to replace American employees.
Tech companies laying off American workers while still hiring H-1B visa holders?
The Arizona politician cites several reports and surveys to back his argument. Conveying concerning numbers highlighted in a “Tech Layoffs Tracker” by TrueUp, he said large tech companies have laid off hundreds of thousands of workers in the last few years. “In fiscal year 2025, these same companies were approved to hire over 30,000 foreign H-1B workers,” he added, alluding to the ‘H-1B Employer Data Hub’ of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Relying on a Quartz report, he suggested that unemployment rate for American tech workers, especially the ones who had graduated recently, was significantly high. As per those numbers highlighted therein, Gallego argued that employees between the ages of 21 and 25 made up for 15% of the workforce in January 2023. However, these figures dropped to 6.7% by July 2025.
Voicing burning concern about Gen Z workers being especially targeted by the current job market landscape, he turned to a Bank of America Institute report, which suggested that over 13% of unemployed Americans in July were newcomers or jobseekers with no prior work experience.
Gallego repeatedly red flagged how the American Dream was slipping out of youth’s hands, putting the blame largely on what countless US officials are now labelling as “H-1B fraud.” On top of that, the Arizona Democrat said that rising costs are equally detrimental for the young people seeking jobs.
“The average student borrows over $30,000 to pursue a bachelor’s degree,” he noted, citing the bank of America Institute’s report. “But even this is no longer enough; since the start of 2020, the median home price has risen 55.7 percent, while average wages have only increased 26.6 percent.”
He also included an NPR report titled “The Rising Cost of Childcare,” which suggests that childcare for one costs more than rent in 17 states and more than in-state college tuitions in 38 states.
Before closing off the letter, Gallego again highlighted that the H-1B visa program should work towards elevating the US economy and workforce, and not replacing it. “Given the number of unemployed American college graduates with relevant degrees and skills,” he told the Trump admin, “the fact that corporations are laying off American workers while simultaneously hiring foreign H-1B workers raises important questions.”
See full letter here: https://cdn.sanity.io/files/ifn0l6bs/production/edc0c26c40ee2120ceced784c3a7d91b4197b269.pdf
