Durbin, Grassley: Congress needs to give Labor Department Authority to Investigate H-1B Visa Abuse
In response to senators’ letter, Department says it is reviewing existing authority to initiate investigations
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Labor’s response to a request by the senators to investigate the harm done to American workers by the rising tide of H-1B guest worker visa abuse:
“The Labor Department’s response further highlights the urgent need to end H-1B visa abuse. The wellbeing of thousands of hard-working Americans is at stake. A number of U.S. employers, including some large, well-known, publicly-traded corporations, have laid off thousands of American workers and replaced them with H-1B visa holders. To add insult to injury, many of the replaced American employees report that they have been forced to train the foreign workers who are taking their jobs. That’s just plain wrong and our bipartisan legislation will help fix that problem, particularly by giving the Labor Department the authority it needs to investigate H-1B visa abuses. We remain committed to working with this Administration and our colleagues in Congress to pass our bill to protect American jobs for American workers.”