H-1B Worker Program Not a Reform Priority, White House Says

There will be no immediate overhaul or reforms to the H-1B foreign guest worker visa program, according to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

In a media briefing, Spicer said President Donald Trump would be reviewing a number of immigration issues that include H-1B visas, but said any reforms to the system before foreign workers could begin applying for the visas on April 1, 2017 would not occur.

“I think there is the legal part of immigration and then the illegal part of immigration,” Spicer said, according to The Hindu. “The President’s actions that he’s taken in terms of his executive order and other revamping of immigration policy have focused on our border security, keeping our country safe, our people safe. And then, obviously, whether it’s H-1B visas or the other one — spousal visas — other areas of student visas, I think there is a natural desire to have a full look at — a comprehensive look at that.”

The open borders lobby has shifted much of their focus away from Trump’s initiatives on illegal immigration and are now in defensive mode on the issue of H-1B visas, as Breitbart Texas reported.

India-based media and open border groups are particularly worried of any kinds of changes to the H-1B visa program, as the system largely favors young, male Indian workers who fill American tech-industry jobs.

The Trump Administration’s inaction to move on the H-1B visa program could see pushback from immigration hawks and voters, as only 30 percent of Americans see the program as necessary, Breitbart Texas reported.

Trump does remain aware of issues regarding the current legal immigration system. In an interview with POLITICO, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said Trump seemed to endorse his and Sen. David Perdue’s (R-GA) “RAISE Act,” which will cut legal immigration by 50 percent over a period of time.

The legislation would also reduce the number of green cards issued every year from about one million to 500,000; end extended family chain migration to the U.S.; eliminate the 50,000 visas granted to foreigners under the diversity visa lottery; and permanently cap U.S. refugees resettlement to 50,000 per year.

Some 85,000 H-1B visas are allotted to foreign workers every year through the U.S. government’s visa lottery program, which has long been criticized by Trump’s Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

John Binder is a contributor for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.