Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called the H-1B visa program a total scam as Americans are getting laid off, making way for foreign workers. H-1B is the visa program that allows US companies to hire foreign workers. It has become a contentious issue as US big techs including Microsoft, Intel announced major layoffs. Republicans want H-1B to end while the Donald Trump administration is planning major changes in the program.
“They’re laying off all these American workers and then they’re importing H1B visa people to work for cheaper. I think that’s a total scam. I don’t think that’s good. Yes, it is legal the way they’re doing it. I acknowledge that. They’re using something that’s on the books. But is that good policy for us as a country to have Americans put out of work and then to bring in H1B (visas)? And then they do chain migration from the H1B. So the H1B is bringing in other folks,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis compared the dynamic to indentured servitude, citing how H‑1B workers are tied to a single employer, which companies exploit to cut costs. Earlier in January 2025, he called out broad issues with the H‑1B system, sharply criticizing practices where Americans train H‑1B workers who then replace them, asking how such a system could even be acceptable.
The comment came as recently vice president JD Vance spoke about the H-1B issue and said the displacement of American workers makes him worried. "You see some big tech companies where they'll lay off 9,000 workers, and then they'll apply for a bunch of overseas visas. And I sort of wonder; that doesn't totally make sense to me."
"That displacement and that math worries me a bit. And what the president has said, he said very clearly: We want the very best and the brightest to make America their home. We want them to build great companies and so forth. But I don't want companies to fire 9,000 American workers and then to go and say, 'We can't find workers here in America.' That's a bullshit story," he said.
“They’re laying off all these American workers and then they’re importing H1B visa people to work for cheaper. I think that’s a total scam. I don’t think that’s good. Yes, it is legal the way they’re doing it. I acknowledge that. They’re using something that’s on the books. But is that good policy for us as a country to have Americans put out of work and then to bring in H1B (visas)? And then they do chain migration from the H1B. So the H1B is bringing in other folks,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis compared the dynamic to indentured servitude, citing how H‑1B workers are tied to a single employer, which companies exploit to cut costs. Earlier in January 2025, he called out broad issues with the H‑1B system, sharply criticizing practices where Americans train H‑1B workers who then replace them, asking how such a system could even be acceptable.
The comment came as recently vice president JD Vance spoke about the H-1B issue and said the displacement of American workers makes him worried. "You see some big tech companies where they'll lay off 9,000 workers, and then they'll apply for a bunch of overseas visas. And I sort of wonder; that doesn't totally make sense to me."
"That displacement and that math worries me a bit. And what the president has said, he said very clearly: We want the very best and the brightest to make America their home. We want them to build great companies and so forth. But I don't want companies to fire 9,000 American workers and then to go and say, 'We can't find workers here in America.' That's a bullshit story," he said.
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