Thread: Trump officials open border to 15,000 more foreign workers

Trump officials open border to 15,000 more foreign workers

By Tracy Jan July 17 at 11:09 AM

Migrant workers on H-2B visas Adan Pozos Lopez, left, and Rafael Ramirez Cortes, right, work on the assembly line Harris's Seafood Co's oyster shucking plant in Grasonville, MD in 2015. (Photo by Astrid Riecken For The Washington Post)

The Department of Homeland Security on Monday announced a one-time increase of 15,000 additional visas for low-wage, seasonal workers for the remainder of this fiscal year, a seeming about-face from President Trump's "Hire American" rhetoric, following heavy lobbying from the fisheries, hospitality and other industries that rely on temporary foreign workers.

The increase represents a 45 percent bump from the number of H-2B visas normally issued for the second half of the fiscal year, said senior Homeland Security officials in a call with reporters Monday.

The visas are for workers taking temporary jobs in the seafood, tourism, landscaping, construction and other seasonal industries -- but not farm laborers.[Despite Trump’s ‘Hire American’ pledge, budget bill would dramatically expand the number of foreign workers]

Businesses can begin applying for the visas this week, but must first attest that their firms would suffer permanent "irreparable harm" without importing foreign workers.

They will be required to retain documents proving that they would not otherwise be able to meet their contractual obligations, the officials said.

The officials said the government made the decision after "considering the interest of U.S. workers" and has created a tip line for reports of worker exploitation and abuse.

"[Secretary John Kelly] first and foremost is committed to protecting U.S. workers and strengthening the integrity of our immigration system," one of the Homeland Security officials said.

Asked how allowing more foreign workers aligns with Trump's America First policies -- especially as the White House kicks off what it has promoted as "Made in America" week -- another official said the increase "absolutely does" fit in with Trump's campaign promises.

"We're talking about American businesses that are at risk of suffering irreparable harm if they don't get additional H-2B workers," he said. "This does help with American businesses continuing to prosper."

The officials said they would not be named in order to brief reporters in advance about the new policy.

Businesses' petitions will be reviewed on a first-come, first-serve basis, and granted without regard to industry type, geographic location or firm size, the officials said. Given that the summer is half over and that normal processing time takes 30 to 60 days, the officials recommended that businesses pay the $1,225 fee for expedited processing within 15 days.

Congress paved the way to increasing the number of H-2B workers in May when it passed an omnibus budget to avert a government shutdown. Part of the deal included giving the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to increase the number of seasonal foreign workers, after consulting with the Secretary of Labor, “upon determination that the needs of American businesses cannot be satisfied in fiscal year 2017 with United States workers who are willing, qualified, and able to perform temporary nonagricultural labor.” (Farm workers enter the U.S. under a different visa, known as the H-2A.)

Current law limits the number of such visas issued to 66,000 a year -- split among two halves of the year. The cap has already been reached this year. Visas for more than 120,000 positions have been requested so far in fiscal 2017, according to Department of Labor statistics. The seafood industry, which began its hiring season in April, competes with other industries, such as landscaping and tourism, that rely heavily on temporary summer workers.

The H-2B program previously drew strong bipartisan support because lawmakers have a vested interest in supporting their home state industries — whether it’s crab-picking in Maryland, ski resorts in Colorado or logging in Washington. But some senators have criticized their colleagues' efforts to bypass public debate about changing immigration law.

Other critics dispute that there really is a labor shortage in the industries that rely most on the seasonal guest worker visas, accusing the industries of exploiting foreign workers at the expense of American jobs.

Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, in May beseeched their Congressional colleagues to remove the provision and give the Judiciary Committee time to consider any changes to immigration laws.

“This move by leadership and appropriators cedes portions of this authority to the executive branch without a public debate,” Grassley and Feinstein said. “We understand the needs of employers who rely on seasonal H-2B workers if the American workforce can’t meet the demand, but we are also aware of the potential side effects of flooding the labor force with more temporary foreign workers, including depressed wages for all workers in seasonal jobs."

Trump himself has used the visas to hire temporary workers at his golf resorts in Palm Beach, Fla., and Jupiter, Fla.

“I’ve hired in Florida during the prime season — you could not get help,” Trump said during a 2015 primary debate.

“Everybody agrees with me on that. They were part-time jobs. You needed them, or we just might as well close the doors, because you couldn’t get help in those hot, hot sections of Florida.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...-wage-workers/