No Justification for Importing More Low-skilled Labor, Study Claims

There is no justification for importing more low-skilled foreign laborers, a new study shows, despite efforts by the Republican establishment to do just that.

Every year, 66,000 foreign guest workers are brought to the United States on the H-2B to take seasonal jobs in blue-collar industries. Due to pressure from the big business lobby and the Republican establishment, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly has increased the cap by another 15,000 foreign guest workers.

A study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), one of the few organizations that compiles data on the H-2B visa and its impact on American wages and unemployment, found that there were 136,000 H-2B foreign workers in the U.S. in Fiscal Year 2016, noting that an increase is not necessary...

The EPI study also looked at U.S. unemployment rates between 2004 and 2016 in the top ten H-2B occupations, finding that American blue-collar workers remain unemployed at a rate greater than the national average...