The Art of the Bipartisan Shell Game
Newsweek reports that both Democrats and Republicans are pressuring Kristi Noem regarding the H-1B visa program, ostensibly concerned about its impact on American workers. The Department of Homeland Security's response indicates a willingness to 'review' the program, suggesting a rare moment of bipartisan consensus on immigration policy aimed at protecting domestic jobs from foreign competition.
Curiously, this unified front emerges exactly when corporate interests, eager for lower-cost, highly skilled labor, are navigating a post-pandemic economic landscape. One might recall how former President George H.W. Bush dramatically increased available H-1Bs in 1990—at the precise moment a globalized economy was taking hold—while the American public was assured it was about innovation, not cheap
labor. This pattern of 'importing talent' at the expense of domestic wages has been a consistent feature of neoliberal policy for decades. Yet, when the conversation shifts to other sectors, say, agricultural labor, the very same political voices often clamor for more 'guest workers,' framing it as essential to keep food prices low, never mind the impact on local farmhands. The concern for
'American workers' appears selectively applied, a convenient narrative device. Here, skilled tech workers are presented as a burden, while other, less-visible foreign laborers are deemed indispensable, often at poverty wages. This is not about protecting all American workers; it's about controlling labor markets and suppressing wages under the guise of patriotic protectionism. The bipartisan