Ron DeSantis Blasts H-1B as a 'Scam,' Accuses Big Firms of Dumping Americans for Cheaper Foreign Labour

Speaking to Fox News' Laura Ingraham, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the H-1B visa has become a 'total scam'. He claimed that the program benefits US firms through cheaper labour and lower wages. This is contradictory to the Trump administration's policies, presumably designed to promote employment for American workers.

Ingraham on H-1B Visa Approval Concerns

Prior to speaking with DeSantis, Ingraham cited the concerns raised from nearly 400,000 H1-B visa approvals in the fiscal year 2024. She cited that this was more than double the amount of approved applicants from fiscal 2000.

This begged the question of whether or not the American workforce was on decline. For reference, H-1B is also labelled as the skilled foreign workers visa, which translates to roughly 400,000 migrants securing US employment.

Ingraham also revealed US-based employers with the most H-1B approvals. This included companies like Amazon, Google and Meta to name a few.

Since one of the pillars of the Trump administration is providing employment for Americans, Ingraham asked how H-1B fit into the picture. She then called it a scam, saying there's 'no reason why we should be bringing in foreign workers when American workers are up to the task'.

Ingraham noted that in the spirit of believing in the free market, wages have to be raised. This, in turn, would encourage Americans to work.

DeSantis on the H-1B Visa Program

Ingraham tapped Ron DeSantis to give his take on the matter, who agreed with her, saying that H-1B has become a 'total scam'. He said that large US companies 'game' the system, lay off large numbers of Americans, while also hiring new H-1B workers.

He acknowledged the 'reality' of the bigger firms hiring from 'the cream of the crop' worldwide. DeSantis revealed that most H-1B visa approvals are from India. He added that 'there's a cottage industry about how all these people make money off this system'.

Ingraham replied, saying that the companies want 'cheap labour' coming into the US with no 'portability' of their job prospects. She added that 'they have to stay' as workers for firms like Google, Walmart, etc.

'No, precisely, 100%, they save money. As you said, these H-1B's limit the H-1B worker to that one company. It's almost like a form of indentured servitude', DeSantis responded.

DeSantis then talked about the time Trump first ran for office, which had a core message of putting Americans first. He said that while he's done that, among other things, he thinks it should be applied to visa programs as well.

Is the H-1B Visa Due for Changes?

Similarly, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called the current iteration of the H-1B visa system a scam. On Monday, he revealed that he'd be directly involved with proposed reforms.

The changes aim to replace its current lottery-based system with a more selective model. Instead, a wage-based allocation will take its place. This will provide visas to higher-earning applicants first.

'We give green cards, the average American makes $75,000 a year and the average green card recipient $66,000 a year', Lutnick told Fox News. He then asked, 'Why are we doing that? It's like picking the bottom core'.

US authorities have already approved a draft rule eliminating the lottery system. Should it become law, it's set to impact millions of workers and students in the US.

Notably, Indians have held a 70% share in the H-1B allocations over the years. However, the US has since tightened rules for foreigners since Trump assumed office in January.