H-1B Visa Program Under Fire: Senator Sanders Blasts Elon Musk, Says Tech Giants Exploit H-1B Program To Replace US Jobs
(MENAFN- Live Mint) Senator Bernie Sanders, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, voiced strong opposition to the H-1B visa program, pushing back against claims made by billionaire tech leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Sharply criticising recent remarks by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy , both close allies of President-elect Donald Trump, Sanders voiced strong opposition to the H-1B visa program, pushing back against claims also made by other billionaire tech leaders. In a statement released on January 2, Sanders stated, "There has been a lot of discussion lately about the H-1B guest worker program . Elon Musk and a number of other billionaire tech company owners have argued that this federal program is vital to our economy because of the scarcity of highly skilled American engineers and other tech workers. I disagree."
While proponents argue the program addresses a shortage of highly skilled American workers, Sanders characterized it as a tool to replace well-paying domestic jobs with lower-wage foreign labor. Sanders asserted,“The main function of the H-1B visa program is not to hire 'the best and the brightest,' but rather to replace good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad.”
Corporate layoffs and guest worker hiring under scrutiny
Sanders highlighted data showing that major corporations utilizing the H-1B program laid off at least 85,000 American workers in 2022 and 2023, while hiring over 34,000 H-1B workers. Tesla, he noted, laid off 7,500 workers, including engineers and software developers, but was approved to employ thousands of H-1B workers.“If there's truly a shortage of skilled workers, why are we seeing these layoffs?” Sanders questioned.
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