Bills seeks to prevent ‘massive layoffs’ by H-1B workers.
AB Wire
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) has introduced the ICE Agent Support Act (H.R. 4597) and the American Jobs First Act (H.R. 4598) this week, in support of similar bills introduced by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in the Senate earlier this month, to safeguard American workers from being displaced by cheaper foreign labor on H-1B visas, and to limit American companies from using the program too frequently.
Significantly, the bill introduced by Brooks would require employers to pay a minimum salary to H-1B visa workers and also wants to have potential employers to take a “cooling off” period in order to prevent employers from abusing the program, Brooks said in his statement, accompanying the introduction of the bill.
The primarily purpose of the bill seems to be to prevent massive layoffs seen in the recent past at Disney World and Toys ‘R’ Us, where American workers were forced to train their replacements, said NumbersUSA.
“It is unconscionable that American workers are being laid off after training their foreign replacements. Congress must stop importing cheap foreign labor and start reforming an abused system that greatly diminishes opportunities for American citizens; the American Jobs First Act would do just that,” Brooks wrote in a statement released Wednesday.
“Congress must stop importing cheap foreign labor and start reforming an abused system that greatly diminishes opportunities for American citizens,” he added.
The ICE Agent Support Act would also require that certain civil fines collected to be appropriated for ICE to track, identify and detain criminal aliens, and purchase vehicle and weapons necessary for the agents to do their job.
“This legislation sends a clear signal of support to the ICE agents who risk their lives on a daily basis to enforce our nation’s immigration laws, and I am grateful for Rep. Brooks’ collaboration on this important initiative,” Cruz said in a statement, supporting Brooks.
The key features of the ICE Agent Support Act:
- Requires that certain civil fines collected into the Treasury Department’s Immigration Enforcement Account be used to offset money being appropriated for identifying and removing criminal aliens.
- Guarantees that ICE agents have the funding and resources necessary to enforce the law as required by Congress.
- Requires that within 30 days of passage, the Secretary of Homeland Security establishes a percentage of criminal investigator positions in ICE’s “Enforcement and Removal Operations Division” which handles most of the immigration work within ICE.
The key features of the American Jobs First Act:
- Establishes a minimum salary for H-1B employees and the creation of a “cooling off” period that would prevent employers from abusing the H-1B program by preventing them from using the program to displace American workers.
- Creates greater transparency of job needs and opportunities in STEM fields.
- Would prevent the massive layoffs at companies such as Disney, where workers were forced to train their foreign replacements.