Oklahoma’s Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt is pushing for even more migrants to take low-paying jobs in his state, even as most Americans are clamoring for President-elect Donald Trump to begin deporting millions of illegal migrants.
Stitt, who assumed the governor’s office in 2019, jumped to his X account on Friday to urge the president-elect to “fix the visa process” while also cracking down on sanctuary policies.
“We can’t stop at deportations— we have to reform the broken system that allowed these people into our country in the first place,” Stitt wrote. “That means cracking down on sanctuary cities, sealing the border, and fixing the visa process.”
Visa workers include H-1B laborers, as well as H-2A food and agriculture workers, and J-1 seasonal workers. White-collar visa workers include H-1Bs, L-1s, TNs, H4EAD, and J-1s.
Each year, the government welcomes roughly one million new visa workers for jobs that could be filled by the combination of better-paid Americans and updated machinery.
This is far from the first time that Stitt has tied ending sanctuary policies with growing the number of visa entries.
In August he praised the work of the state’s Work Permit and Visa Task Force and added that he wants to “create opportunities to bring the best talent to Oklahoma.”
He noted that the task force “addressed the real issues presented by the Biden-Harris administration’s open border policy.” And in a follow up post, he wrote, “I want to create opportunities to bring the best talent to Oklahoma.”
“We need the best nurses, the best engineers, the best accountants, the best construction workers & the best teachers,” he said, concluding with, “If they’re willing to come here and work hard, let’s match the employer with the employee.”
Instead of filling these jobs with Americans, Stitt envisions importing migrants for these jobs.
The controversial Stitt report seems to focus heavily on importing migrants to fill a range of jobs from low-paying to white collar, instead of seeking to find qualified Americans.
The report even suggests that Oklahoma create a new government office called the “Office of New Oklahomans.” It also advises the state legislature to give driving privileges to migrants.
However, even as Stitt is pushing for ever larger waves of migrant hires, according to state data, in July, wage growth trailed the national average. That signaled there was little job growth or competition in Oklahoma necessitating the need for a large imported workforce. Indeed, unemployment decreased in the state, one of only a handful to see that occur this year.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston.
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