How Do We Reconcile America First With H-1B Visa Abuse?
If President Trump is earnest about his desire to bring in more H-1B workers, one thing we can all agree on is that he needs to be discriminating.
Affordability is an ever-increasing concern for middle- and lower-class Americans. Young people fresh out of college are struggling to find jobs in their fields, or they’re finding it difficult to make ends meet even when they do land a job. Many reasons are contributing to this issue, including H-1B visas.
H-1Bs are given to foreign workers who have at least a bachelor’s degree and are hired to work in STEM fields in the United States. According to Fox News’s Will Cain, 70% of the visas are given to Indians and 10% are given to Chinese. Furthermore, 80% of the workers who come here from overseas are not getting hired to do specialized work; they are taking entry-level jobs.
H-1B ABUSE: Will Cain exposes the corrupt H-1B visa system: 70% of visas go to India & 10% to China, with 80% approved for entry-level jobs, Hard to stomach when we’re told Americans lack the skills… pic.twitter.com/qfYBsjqwM1
— @amuse (@amuse) November 13, 2025
President Donald Trump recently told Fox News’s Laura Ingraham that we need to bring in foreign workers. “You don’t have certain talents,” he explained, “and people have to learn. You can’t take people off an unemployment line and say, ‘I’m going to put you into a factory where you’re going to make missiles.’”
This comment was an indictment of our education system. If Americans aren’t ready for the workforce, then our education system is failing at its purpose.
But the president also understandably rubbed many Americans the wrong way. He seems to be under the illusion that all of the workers coming to the U.S. on H-1Bs are like Tesla’s Elon Musk or Google’s Sundar Pichai. Frankly, I don’t think Americans would have a problem with more geniuses à la Musk or Pichai bringing their talent to the U.S. In reality, however, many of those coming here on H-1Bs are accepting entry-level jobs, taking positions away from recent American college graduates. There is a surplus of H-1B workers, and it’s driving down wages. This means that even if a recent American college grad were lucky enough to land an entry-level job in the saturated STEM field, they may not earn enough to pay off their college debt or cover the cost of living.
H-1B ABUSE: The real “talent” of many H1B workers is their willingness to work for less than Americans, and immigration is inseparable from the affordability crisis because it pushes wages down. pic.twitter.com/TT3serl5EL
— @amuse (@amuse) November 13, 2025
If Trump is earnest about his desire to bring in more H-1B workers, one thing we can all agree on is that he needs to be discriminating. As Manhattan Institute fellow Daniel Di Martino puts it, “We need better [newcomers] — immigrants who create jobs, innovate, and assimilate.” This sort of discriminating overhaul needs to be applied across the board, particularly with those coming over here under refugee status (see Somalia Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar).
President Trump is making great and necessary strides in curbing illegal immigration, and his administration is also looking at reforming legal immigration. As The Wall Street Journal reports, “Illegal immigration has ground to a halt, with Southwest border encounters down by some 95% from the Biden surge levels. The Administration has also taken steps to reduce legal immigration, including charging $100,000 for an H-1B visa.” The H-1B fee will hopefully help companies be more discerning about the foreigners they hire.
Bottom line: H-1Bs are harming American workers and the overall affordability of living in America. It’s an issue that needs to be addressed. Certainly, some imported talent is needed to fill in the gaps. But that should be a transitional phase, not a permanent feature.
