Trump ally Tom Cotton criticized the administration Monday for increasing the number of guest worker visas.
The Trump administration announced Monday it will make 30,000 additional visas available for temporary non-agricultural workers available in 2019 through the H-2B visa program.
Cotton, an Arkansas Republican senator, called the announcement “bad news for hard-working Americans” because it would take away jobs for younger people.
The announced decision is in tension with President Trump’s broader efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, build a U.S.-Mexico border wall, and limit forms of legal immigration. The Department Homeland Security said the decision was brought about by Congress’s failure to create a legislative fix.
[Related: Trump orders crackdown on visa overstays]
“The truth is that Congress is in the best position to establish the appropriate number of H-2B visas that American businesses should be allocated without harming U.S. workers,” said Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan. “Therefore, Congress — not DHS — should be responsible for determining whether the annual numerical limitations for H-2B workers set by Congress need to be modified and by how much.” The announcement was jointly issued by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor.
The decision was made the by the administration last month and leaked publicly by congressional lawmakers.
Cotton argued there was no need for the visas. “The 30,000 additional visas are for seasonal summer work. The unemployment rate for teenagers in the U.S. is 13%, and for 20-24 yr olds it’s 7.8%. These are the Americans who want these jobs, and will be hurt by this new flood of foreign labor,” he tweeted. Cotton has advocated tighter immigration controls and promoted legislation to curtail low-skill immigration.
Congress has capped the number of seasonal work visas under the H-2B program at 66,000 annually, a number that is quickly exhausted each year due to high demand for the workers at places such as restaurants, retail outlets, and resorts.
The 30,000 H-2B visas formally announced Monday are limited to workers who previously received the same visa in the previous three years.
The Department of Homeland Security has limited discretionary authority to adjust the number of visas available. The Trump administration has issued extra visas through the program each year since 2017.
