Why the Muskrat is wrong about opening America to skilled workers from abroad
I refused to bow to industry pressure 30 years ago, and my reasons are as legitimate now as they were then.
Friends,
When I was secretary of labor, America’s emerging Big Tech industry pushed to raise the cap on the number of skilled workers allowed into the United States under the H-1B visa program.
I resisted the pressure, telling business that if they wanted skilled workers so badly, they should train Americans for these jobs, including their own workers.
Apparently the same controversy has emerged among Trump advisers over whether and how many skilled foreign workers should be allowed into the United States on work visas.
On the one side are billionaire techies such as Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, who sank more than a quarter of a billion dollars into Trump’s reelection effort, and David Sachs, a venture capitalist who also poured a fortune into Trump’s campaign.
(Trump has rewarded Musk by picking him to be co-chair of the so-called “department of government efficiency” and rewarded Sachs by naming him czar for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency policy.)
Both Musk and Sachs are from Big Tech and want more skilled workers from around the world. Both built or financed businesses that rely on the government’s H-1B visa program to hire skilled workers from abroad.
Trump’s immigration hard-liners don’t agree. Their goal is to radically restrict immigration, deport anyone who’s undocumented, and put up high tariffs to discourage imports from other nations (and their workers).
Which side is right?
On balance, it’s important to keep the pressure on American businesses to educate and train Americans for skilled jobs in the United States.
Allowing many more skilled workers into the United States reduces any incentives on American business to invest in the American workforce. Why do so when they can get talent from abroad?
Allowing many more skilled workers into the U.S. also reduces the bargaining power of skilled workers already in America — and thereby reduces any incentive operating on other Americans to gain the skills for such jobs.
And opening America to skilled workers also reduces the incentive on foreign nations to educate and nurture their own skilled workforces. Why should they, when their own skilled workers can easily migrate to America?
The major beneficiaries in the U.S. of opening the nation to skilled workers from abroad are CEOs and venture capitalists like Musk and Sachs, whose profits and wealth would be even higher if they could siphon off cheaper skilled workers from abroad.
What do you think?
So let me get this straight: Their plan is to mass deport all immigrants except those on H-1B visas for tech jobs. This essentially means that Americans are expected to take on the lower-wage positions vacated by deported immigrants, while tech companies continue to hire H-1B visa holders at lower wages than what they’d pay domestic workers. The outcome? Everyone loses.
Here’s why: Americans now face an influx of low-wage jobs that don’t align with the cost of living, leaving many unable to make ends meet. At the same time, H-1B visa holders are often brought in because companies can pay them less, further exacerbating wage disparities and bypassing opportunities for American workers who could otherwise fill these roles. This creates a misalignment in our labor market where Americans are rejected for positions because corporations aim to minimize costs by leveraging foreign labor, despite the higher cost of living requiring higher wages for domestic workers.
I’m not against H-1B visas, but the issue lies in how this system is misused. If the government mass-deports workers while simultaneously increasing tariffs, the economy won’t stabilize unless corporations have access to offshore labor or cheaper visa programs like H-1B. This “compromise” ends up hurting everyone: it undermines fair wages for Americans, exploits foreign workers, and perpetuates systemic inequality.
This approach feels shortsighted. It pits working-class Americans against immigrant workers while letting corporations continue to prioritize profits over fair wages and sustainable practices. We all lose in this equation.
I live in Silicon Valley of California where tens of thousands of immigrant tech workers are employed. This program is as destructive to the tech middle class as factory offshoring and outsourcing were in the 90’s to blue collar manufacturing.
Over the past 25 years here I’ve observed that this trend has led to:
1. The H1b visa program is being grossly abused. It’s intended to fill specialized skills that are unable to be filled domestically. Instead, it’s used to provide a large number of workers who are willing to work for less.
2. H1b workers here will do anything asked and will not say no - to unreasonable and even abusive requests. This is because if they lose their job, they lose their status. That makes them super-vulnerable and unwilling to resist any employer demand. Employers love this and it is at the heart of comments that Elon/Vivek have made about “American worker culture.” If you stand up for yourself, it makes you undesirable.
3. Use of H1B employees to fill almost any role have led to the near cessation of US candidate recruitment and relocation. 25 years ago, it was quite common for companies to hire new grads or mid-career people and move them to fill roles. This has all but ended for all but the highest level roles. Instead, put out a job requisition to the outsourcing companies and you have your choice of qualified candidates from India or China who are willing to work for 50 - 75% of a native born person.