The Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly opened investigations into alleged discrimination tied to the H-1B visa program, as Trump administration officials signal plans for increased scrutiny of the skilled worker visa.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said that the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division is investigating hiring practices accused of giving preference to H-1B visa holders over American workers, as reported by Newsweek.
“Through our Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, the Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights section has numerous open investigations into hiring practices that discriminate against American citizens, and the list continues to grow. We encourage anyone aware of such practices to notify the Civil Rights Division so we can determine if an investigation and enforcement action is needed,” Dhillon told Infowars.
An H-1B visa allows American employers to temporarily hire foreign talent in speciality occupations, including technology, engineering, and medical fields. Recently, there have been reports on the H-1B visa crackdown.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sharply criticised the H-1B visa system during an appearance on Fox News’ ‘The Ingraham Angle,’ declaring, “I am working to change the H-1B program because it is terrible.” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has slammed H-1B visas in a TV interview.
“I think you’re right to say the H-1B, it’s become a total scam,” he said. These companies game the system. You have some of these companies that are laying off large numbers of Americans while they’re also getting new H-1 Bs and renewing existing H-1 Bs. A lot of times people used to say: ‘well you know we’re getting the cream of the crop from all around the world.’ The reality is that’s not actually what H1Bs are, most of them (H-1Bs) are from one country, India, there’s a cottage industry about how all those people make money off this system”.
DHS is preparing to propose a new system that would replace the existing random lottery. Federal reviewers signed off on the plan earlier this month.
