Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. He takes aim at the controversial H-1B visa program, arguing that it replaces “good-paying American jobs with low-wage servants from abroad” — just as the program is at the center of debate within the Republican Party.
“The primary function of the H-1B visa program and other guest worker initiatives is not to recruit the best and brightest, but to replace good-paying American jobs with low-wage servants from abroad,” Sanders wrote. Tenth: “The cheaper the workers they hire, the more money billionaires make.”
the He described himself as a democratic socialist It has a history of opposing the program that allows American companies to hire foreign workers in specialized professions. It is used mostly by the technology industry, but has faced criticism mainly from the right because it brings in cheap labor from abroad to replace American workers.
Trump says he has not changed his mind on H-1B visas as debate rages within the MAGA coalition
Prominent liberals, such as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, have claimed that the Democratic Party lost the 2024 election because it abandoned the working class. (Charlie Tripalo/AFP via Getty Images)
The program has recently become part of a debate within Republicans Elon Musk Vivek Ramaswamy, who was appointed by Trump to lead the government's Department of Efficiency, has argued for the importance of foreign workers for technology companies.
“The reason I'm in America is with so many important people who built SpaceX, tesla, And hundreds of other companies that made America strong are because of H1B.”
This has reopened a dispute among right-wingers over the program and whether it is being used to attract top talent or being used by companies to bring in cheaper labour, especially from India, who are linked to their jobs through a visa.
Sanders cited statistics showing that in 2022 and 2023, the 30 largest companies using the program laid off more than 85,000 American workers, while hiring more than 34,000 H-1B workers, and that 33% of new IT jobs are filled by foreign guest workers. He also pointed to layoffs at Tesla, one of Musk's companies.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are set to head the government's efficiency department. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“If this program is really supposed to be about importing workers with highly advanced degrees in science and technology, why are H-1B guest workers being hired as dog trainers, massage therapists, chefs, and English teachers?” He said. “Can we really not find English teachers in America?”
Sanders acknowledged that there may be a labor shortage that could be filled H-1B workersBut he called for a significant increase in guest worker fees in order to provide opportunities for Americans, as well as other reforms, including an increase in the minimum wage and the ability to transfer jobs easily.
“The bottom line: It should never be cheaper for a company to hire a guest worker from abroad than it is to hire an American worker,” he said.
Sanders said that “the economic elite and political institutions” promised in the 1990s that the loss of blue-collar jobs due to free trade agreements would be offset by more white-collar IT jobs.
“Well, that turned out to be a big lie. Corporations didn't just export millions of blue-collar workers Manufacturing jobs to ChinaMexico and other low-wage countries are now importing hundreds of thousands of low-wage guest workers from abroad to fill available technical jobs.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Sanders' comments come days later President-elect TrumpHe, who criticized H-1B abuse during the 2016 campaign, said he has always supported the program.
“I have several H-1B visas on my property. I've been a believer in H-1B visas. I've used them many times. It's a great program,” he told the New York Post.
