The Department of Labor (DOL) has launched an enforcement initiative to “ensure no employers are abusing H-1B visas at the expense of our workforce” in line with President Donald Trump’s recent proclamation directing federal agencies to fix the foreign worker program.
“Project Firewall” was unveiled Friday, with Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer explaining that it will root out “fraud and abuse” of H-1B visas to verify that highly skilled jobs go to Americans first.”
“The Trump Administration is standing by our commitment to end practices that leave Americans in the dust. As we reestablish economic dominance, we must protect our most valuable resource: the American worker. Launching Project Firewall will help us ensure no employers are abusing H-1B visas at the expense of our workforce,” Chavez-DeRemer said in a press release. “By rooting out fraud and abuse, the Department of Labor and our federal partners will ensure that highly skilled jobs go to Americans first.”
The initiative came soon after Trump signed a Friday proclamation titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” which authorized agencies to “reduce fraud and exclude foreign workers from the career-starting jobs needed by talented U.S. graduates,” Breitbart News’s Neil Munro reported.
Trump’s proclamation also notably imposes a $100,000 fee for the arrival of each foreigner hired via the H-1B program.
With Project Firewall, the DOL will conduct investigations of employers to “maximize H-1B program compliance.”
To achieve this goal, Chavez-DeRemer will “personally certify the initiation of investigations for the first time in the department’s history,” a press release stated.
“Violations may result in the collection of back wages owed to affected workers, the assessment of civil money penalties, and/or debarment from future use of the H-1B program for a prescribed period of time,” the department explained. “Additionally, the department will share information and coordinate with relevant government agencies, as permitted by law, to combat discrimination against American workers and ensure the law is properly enforced by leveraging the full force of the federal government.”
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
Read the full article here