On Monday the Department of Homeland Security announced new rules to "deter and detect" abuse and fraud in the H-1B Visa program, while the Department of Justice warned employers not to discriminate against Americans.
The warnings follow a memo released on Friday from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, which said it would no longer consider entry-level computer programming positions as a way to get the visa.
The visas are given to companies so that they can temporarily hire highly skilled foreign tech workers. The problem is that companies like Disney take advantage of the program and replace perfectly good American workers with foreign workers.
Big tech companies argue that there are not enough American workers with the necessary skills needed to fill their positions.
It's about time the federal government stuck up for American workers! Acting assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Civil Rights Division said in a statement:
“The Justice Department will not tolerate employers misusing the H-1B visa process to discriminate against U.S. workers. U.S. workers should not be placed in a disfavored status, and the department is wholeheartedly committed to investigating and vigorously prosecuting these claims."