Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
In a rare moment of policy clarity, the Biden administration is making a well-timed move that could actually help get our economy going again rather than hurt its progress.
The Department of Homeland Security just announced it would use its discretion to grant 20,000 additional H-2B visas for this fiscal year. These are temporary visas for seasonal or short-term workers. With the economy still held back by a widespread labor shortage, this move can help employees fill jobs and get the supply chain rolling again.
“DHS is taking action to address the needs of our economy by making an additional 20,000 H-2B visas available to workers,” said DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “We are providing employers with the resources and support needed to sustain their businesses while expanding lawful pathways to the United States.”
This really is a win-win policy move. It helps struggling entrepreneurs fill jobs to keep their businesses afloat while also allowing foreign workers to earn more money than they could in their home countries. H-2B visas specifically do not hurt U.S. workers in any way, shape, or form. Employers are literally required to prove there are no willing American workers to fill these jobs before they can file for these special visas. H-2B visas typically cover jobs Americans do not want.
As the Wall Street Journal editorial board wryly noted, “Few Americans are willing to relocate every few months for physically demanding seasonal jobs such as shucking oysters in the Gulf Coast or cleaning rooms at Rocky Mountain ski resorts, no matter how much employers pay.” In fact, failing to grant enough H-2Bs, as the government has done in recent years, actually ends up hurting U.S. workers. One recent study found exactly that.
The study examined industries most acutely affected by the sharp decline in H-2B visas during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than a booming surplus of jobs for Americans, as anti-immigration arguments would predict, native-born workers actually ended up with lower employment levels. There are certainly many factors that went into that downturn. But in some cases, a lack of available workers led businesses to shut down or decrease production, leaving those they employ out of luck.
Simply put, it’s generally a mistake to think of legal immigration as a zero-sum game, in which immigrants benefit at the expense of Americans. By issuing more H-2B visas and allowing more law-abiding immigrants to fill open jobs here in the United States, the Biden administration is, for once, doing something eminently sensible and benefits us all.
Brad Polumbo (@Brad_Polumbo) is a co-founder of Based-Politics.com, a co-host of the BasedPolitics podcast, and a Washington Examiner contributor.
