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Vice President JD Vance and Department of Labor officials announced Thursday that the Trump administration is suspending Microsoft, Adobe and others from a key employment-based green card program, accusing big tech companies and outsourcing companies of abusing the visa system to the detriment of American workers.
“There is unfortunately no company in the United States that has abused the system as much as Microsoft,” Vance said at a news conference on H-1B and J-1 visa fraud, noting that the administration was targeting companies it accused of using foreign workers to undercut American wages and replace American employees.
Vance said Microsoft laid off 6,000 U.S. workers last year while benefiting from 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards, calling it a “scandalous system.”
“For every worker Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with 1½ foreign indentured servants,” Vance said.
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Vance said the administration decided to suspend Microsoft’s access to the Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM), which allows employers to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency.
“Our message to Microsoft is: You are a great American company, but you have to hire great American workers,” Vance said. “You can’t fire American workers and then replace them with foreign indentured servants.”
The Labor Department also suspended Adobe from the program, along with several large IT outsourcing companies — including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini — according to Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, citing active federal investigations.
“We will not accept any new applications for permanent labor certification or process any pending applications involving these companies,” he said. “Since 2009, these companies alone have requested nearly 3 million foreign workers. They have received more than 230,000 H-1B visas and more than 100,000 permanent work certifications.
“This represents hundreds of thousands of jobs that have been lost to American workers. Our historic action is the crucial first step in ending fraud and abuse and ensuring that these programs never come at the expense of American workers,” he said. “Under the leadership of President Trump and thanks to Vice President Vance and this task force, we are ending the fraud that has fueled the reliance on foreign labor.”
Vice President JD Vance and Department of Labor officials announced Thursday that the Trump administration is suspending Microsoft and others from a key employment-based green card program, accusing the tech giant of abusing the U.S. visa system. (Cesc Maymo/Getty Images)
FOX Business has contacted Microsoft and Adobe for comment.
Vance also announced investigations into allegations of J-1 visa abuse at several universities, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, the University of Pittsburgh, UC Davis, Caltech, Arizona State and MIT.
“I am announcing a historic investigation into J-1 visa fraud involving nine major U.S. universities,” said Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito. “Subpoenas have been served, investigations are underway and no one will get a pass because their name is engraved on an expensive building.”
“Inappropriate use of J-1 visa classifications to avoid employment obligations, exploit taxpayer-funded programs, and harm American workers will not be tolerated,” he added.
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Vance denounced what he called the “insult” of visa fraud by American companies.
“This is a fundamental insult to the American worker and the American way of life,” Vance said. “We cannot allow visa programs designed to ensure American businesses have access to the best and brightest to use them to undercut the wages of American workers.”
Vance urged Congress to reform the program for its abuse.
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“It’s a terribly pernicious system: It’s been going on for too long and we would all, by the way, encourage Congress to do something,” Vance said.
“I would again encourage Congress to reform this program. It is very clear that it is not working as it should, but we have tools within the administration to make this program work better for the American people. We could do a lot more if Congress was willing to play along,” he continued. “And once again, we extend an invitation to Democrats and Republicans. If you want the H-1B visa program to stop being used to defraud the American taxpayer and to undercut the wages of American workers, get to work and we will help you, but we will do everything we can in the meantime to ensure that the program works as it was designed.”
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Asked about targeting companies, Vance clarified that it was intended to change the behavior of companies, not to punish them. But Attorney General Todd Blanche warned that criminal charges could also be brought against companies or individuals found to have violated U.S. law.
“Microsoft is a large American company and we have a great relationship with them,” Vance responded to the first question. “They’re doing a lot of important things. They’ve also laid off 6,000 American workers, while replacing them with 6,300 H-1Bs. And our message to Microsoft is not that we want to hurt your business, it’s that we want your business to thrive, but we want it to thrive by employing and empowering your fellow Americans.”
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