Durbin, Pascrell, Khanna Statement On Trump Administration Decision To Bar H-1B Visas Through End Of The Year
Members Have Led Bipartisan, Bicameral Reforms To Protect American Workers And Improve Fairness For Skilled Labor Applicants
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representatives Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) and Ro Khanna (D-CA-17) today released the following statement regarding the Trump Administration’s decision to bar H-1B and other work visas through the end of the year. Durbin, Pascrell, and Khanna are sponsors of bipartisan, bicameral legislation to reform and close loopholes in the H-1B and L-1 visa programs. The H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act will reduce fraud and abuse, provide protections for American workers and visa holders, and require more transparency in the recruitment of foreign workers.
“This is not the right approach. We need to mend the H-1B program, not end it. Instead of suspending H-1B visas, the Trump Administration should ask Congress to pass the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2020, which reforms the H-1B program with a scalpel, not a sledgehammer. Our bipartisan legislation would protect American workers and end the abuse of the H-1B program to outsource American jobs and exploit workers, while ensuring employers could still hire talented immigrant workers when no qualified American is available to do the job.”
Along with Durbin, Pascrell, and Khanna, the legislation is also cosponsored by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-06), and Lance Gooden (R-TX-05).
-30-