One expert says President-elect Donald Trump may soon move to reform the H-1B visa program after years of further deviation from its original purpose.
Lora Reese, director of the Heritage Foundation's Border Security and Immigration Control Center, said in an interview with Fox News Digital that the H-1B visa program “needs to be reformed because it is not being used the way Congress intended.” . .
The comments come as President-elect Trump has already announced picks for key Cabinet positions and is busy formulating an agenda for his return to the White House as he prepares for his transition from candidate to president for the second time. It was announced while I was there.
One of the key areas that President Trump is likely to refocus on when he reenters the Oval Office is the country's immigration system, an issue that has been the focus of Trump's two campaigns for the nation's highest office. This is the central issue.
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President-elect Donald Trump speaks during the House Republican Conference at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on November 13, 2024. (Alison Robert Poole/Getty Images)
Securing the border and conducting a large-scale deportation operation are two policies likely to be at the top of Mr. Trump's priority list, but the president-elect will seek to tackle broader immigration issues in his second term. There is a high possibility.
One such reform is likely to be the H-1B visa program, Reese argued, noting that the program has long been a victim of fraud and abuse.
“Like a lot of programs, it's been stripped of its intent, watered down and cheated,” Reese said.
Trump tried to address the problem during his last term, introducing several reforms in hopes of eliminating fraud and ensuring the program is not harmful to American workers.
Tightening the definition of “special occupations” and making it more difficult for people who don't meet the requirements to obtain H-1B visas is one of the reforms President Trump has made, and the next president will I also asked for change. H-1B Holder Requirements.
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President-elect Donald Trump is also likely to seek to address immigration issues more broadly in his second term. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
These reforms were aimed at addressing what Trump saw as a threat to American workers, who he believed were losing jobs to companies preferring to hire cheaper foreign labor. .
“This program requires additional labor protections for Americans,” Reese said. “There are many stories of high-skilled American workers being replaced by low-wage foreign workers and foreign workers having to be trained. steal their jobs. ”
President Trump has made similar arguments in the past when discussing the program, including “eradicating rampant and widespread H-1B abuse and “We are committed to ending outrageous practices like those that occurred at Disney.” “Foreign Substitutes” was featured in the 2016 campaign.
President-elect Donald Trump tried to address the issue during his last term. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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The program was originally intended to allow U.S. companies to fill gaps in the U.S. workforce with qualified foreign workers, but Reese claims it has since strayed from that goal. did. Reese said any reforms by President Trump would be aimed at ensuring protections for American workers and would likely be similar to what he saw in his first term as president.
“We're going to protect American workers and not replace them with foreign workers just because they're cheaper,” Reese said.
