Posted on 03/10/2016 9:46:06 AM PST by ConservingFreedom
Donald Trump won the South Carolina primary across the board, but he did particularly well with the 10 percent of voters who named immigration as the nation's top issue. In addition, some who named other issues -- the economy, national security -- were undoubtedly also concerned about immigration, and Trump's hard line likely helped him with them, too.
Which is why people who follow immigration closely were stunned Thursday night when Trump, at the Fox News debate here in Detroit, announced that he has changed his position on one key element of the immigration debate -- the use of H-1B visas to bring skilled foreign workers into the United States.
In the distant past -- say, yesterday -- Trump focused on abuses in the system, in which some big companies have been caught using H-1Bs to bring in foreign workers, force American employees to train their own replacements, and then pay the foreign worker less than the American had made -- all to do mostly routine jobs in the tech industry.
At his recent rally in Alabama -- the one in which Trump received the endorsement of Sen. Jeff Sessions, Congress' strongest voice against expanding the troubled H-1B program -- Trump also won the endorsement of some American workers who were victims of H-1B abuse at Disney.
"The fact is that Americans are losing their jobs to foreigners," one of the laid-off workers told the crowd. "I believe Mr. Trump is for Americans first."
In Detroit, Fox News' Megyn Kelly pointed out that Trump's campaign website has a strong statement against increasing the number of H-1Bs, saying it would "decimate American workers," and yet in one debate Trump spoke favorably of the program. "So, which is it?" Kelly asked.
"I'm changing," Trump said. "I'm changing. We need highly skilled people in this country, and if we can't do it, we'll get them in. But, and we do need in Silicon Valley, we absolutely have to have."
"So, we do need highly skilled," Trump continued, "and one of the biggest problems we have is people go to the best colleges. They'll go to Harvard, they'll go to Stanford, they'll go to Wharton, as soon as they're finished they'll get shoved out. They want to stay in this country. They want to stay here desperately, they're not able to stay here. For that purpose, we absolutely have to be able to keep the brain power in this country.
"So you are abandoning the position on your website?" asked Kelly.
"I'm changing it," Trump said, "and I'm softening the position because we have to have talented people in this country."
Trump's turnaround sent a jolt through the group of policy wonks and activists who have opposed Gang of Eight-style comprehensive immigration reform. "I've heard from enough tech workers displaced by H-1Bs that Trump's apparent answer very dispiriting," tweeted the writer Mickey Kaus. "Clarification?"
Mark Krikorian, head of the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors reducing levels of immigration into the U.S., was not impressed. "(Trump) made clear in October he didn't believe what's in his immigration paper about skilled immigration," Krikorian told me by email after the debate, "and at the last debate he showed he buys the 'jobs Americans won't do' line on unskilled workers too."
"So will he 'clarify' his 'I'm softening' comment tomorrow, like he did after the October debate?" Krikorian continued. "His embrace of foreign tech workers is particularly shocking given that just days ago he featured American workers replaced by Disney at one of his rallies."
Even as Krikorian was typing his email to me, Trump was at work doing just what Krikorian predicted. "Megyn Kelly asked about highly skilled immigration," Trump said in a clarification statement sent to reporters about an hour after the debate ended. "The H-1B program is neither high-skilled nor immigration: these are temporary foreign workers, imported from abroad, for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay. I remain totally committed to eliminating rampant, widespread H-1B abuse and ending outrageous practices such as those that occurred at Disney in Florida when Americans were forced to train their foreign replacements. I will end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labor program, and institute an absolute requirement to hire American workers first for every visa and immigration program. No exceptions."
It would be hard to imagine a quicker or more complete flip-flop. [...]
And American workers shouldn't be paid that much?
On the price - let em make as much as they can. The good ones are 3x-5x more efficient and productive than offshore resources.
Agreed. (Not sure why you brought it up in the first place.)
And what changes to the law will he have to prevent the abuse from occurring?
oh wait...now I know why Trump loves the uneducated ;-)
Why did you stop beating your wife?
H1B visas are used to keep tech wages down. That is definitely the case. And Trump will do nothing to change the law to prevent that from happening.
Now here’s the thing no one wants to discuss. If tech wages skyrocket then businesses will outsource more IT jobs overseas. They are already doing this with most coding projects. How do we manage both? Trump hasn’t discussed this at all other than flip-flop-flip on H1B visas.
Keep pushing the suggestion in your posts that Trump supporters are “low information” folks like Cruz did today. As a Trump supporter I really appreciate all you are doing to get Trump the nomination.
That is totally legal immigration. Always has been. Trump reviewed his position against “all H1B visas” and it was WRONG, so he changed it to a more pragmatic intelligent position. I don’t get what the criticism is. It’s all STATUTORY. Don’t expect Trump to BREAK THE LAW. He will uphold the law or help Congress change the law. He doesn’t just do what he wants. He will uphold the law on illegal aliens and border enforcement and uphold the law on H1B visas . Totally consistent.
Today Cruz said, “Donald does well with voters who have relatively low information, who are not that engaged and who are angry and they see him as an angry voice.”
Cruz going Romney isn’t going to end well for him.
No, they won’t be consistent. Because Trump...
There is no shortage of qualified American STEM workers. The purpose of the H-1B program is to keep labor costs low by importing foreign workers.
So what WAS he talking about, if not H-1B, when he said in last week's debate: "I'm changing it, and I'm softening the position"? What's his new position and how was his old position different? Will he ever tell us?
I don’t have a wife. People who are in favor of more H-1B visas want to take jobs away from Americans.
So now by pointing out the flaws in supporters' arguments I'm insulting them? Have a hankie. What a crybaby position for supporters of such a 'manly' candidate.
Good luck with bringing people to your side by talking down to them.
Today, Cruz said, “Donald does well with voters who have relatively low information, who are not that engaged and who are angry and they see him as an angry voice.”
Wishing you a very happy March 15th :)
Trump said he wasn't talking about H-1B at all: "Megyn Kelly asked about highly-skilled immigration. The H-1B program is neither high-skilled nor immigration".
“And what changes to the law will he have to prevent the abuse from occurring?
oh wait...now I know why Trump loves the uneducated ;-)”
______________
My understanding is that the legislation, as written, does not permit the type of abuse that Disney had been committing against its employees. That testimony came from a TV interview w/one of the major complainants in the Disney case. He indicated that the Disney employees were being reinstated and that there is now a group of U.S. Senators who are actively pursuing these types of abuse and “tightening the reins” on any companies that abusing the legislation.
Your snarky final comment was really uncalled for and detrimental to your candidate.
Yes they will, the will constantly support trump no matter how many times he contradicts or misrepresents his positions.
Here's why. From https://www.tedcruz.org/cruz-immigration-plan/:
Amend the H-1B visa program to fulfill its original purpose: Work with Congress to pass reform legislation for the H-1B visa program that will:
"Ted Cruz, Jeff Sessions Roll Out Antidote To Broken H-1B Program: American Jobs First Act" - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3371276/posts
"Ted Cruz Explains why His Position on H-1B Visas Has Changed" - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3376485/posts
Then you are not a Cruz supporter then since he wants to increase H-1B visas 500%.
Good luck with that. :)
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