Sen. Cruz: The H-1B Visa Program Is Broken and In Need of Repair

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Thursday entered the following statement into the record at a hearing convened by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest. The hearing addressed the H-1B visa program and its impact on the American workforce and economy.

“The vast majority of our immigration problems – from the unfinished border fence to the failure to deport those who have entered the country illegally – are the result of administration and executive branch officials who have resisted enforcing laws that were passed by Congress, in accordance with the Constitution,” said Sen. Cruz. “Simple commitment to the enforcement of our existing laws would make a huge difference in the lives of most Americans, whose worlds have been impacted by the crime and economic damage caused by the failure of illegal immigrants to respect our sovereignty.

“The H-1B visa program, however, is arguably different from the above laws that go unenforced. While there is no doubt some American companies abuse the H-1B visa program, many of the problems associated with, and the injuries caused by, the H-1B visa program occur even when the rules, as required by federal law, are followed. This is very much the sign of a broken program that is in need of repair.”

Full text of the statement can be found below:

I want to extend my sincere thanks to Chairman Sessions for convening this important hearing about the H-1B visa program and its impact on the American workforce and economy. I also want to extend my sincere thanks to the witnesses today for dedicating time and energy to helping us explore this issue. I am particularly thankful to Leo Perrero for his role in today’s hearing, and for having the courage to speak up on behalf of other Americans who cannot do so.

As Chairman Sessions and I, and other advocates of immigration enforcement and reform will admit, a large number of our domestic immigration problems stem from a lack of enforcement. Those who oppose effective use of our immigration laws, or those who favor amnesty or an open-borders approach to immigration policy, will argue that our immigration system is “broken” and in desperate need of repair.

For the most part, that argument is false. The vast majority of our immigration problems – from the unfinished border fence to the failure to deport those who have entered the country illegally – are the result of administration and executive branch officials who have resisted enforcing laws that were passed by Congress, in accordance with the Constitution. Simple commitment to the enforcement of our existing laws would make a huge difference in the lives of most Americans, whose worlds have been impacted by the crime and economic damage caused by the failure of illegal immigrants to respect our sovereignty.

The H-1B visa program, however, is arguably different from the above laws that go unenforced. While there is no doubt some American companies abuse the H-1B visa program, many of the problems associated with, and the injuries caused by, the H-1B visa program occur even when the rules, as required by federal law, are followed. This is very much the sign of a broken program that is in need of repair.

I have had the distinct privilege of traveling across the United States and meeting hard-working Americans of all walks of life. In my travels, I have met men and women who have told me that they have lost their jobs because their former employer replaced them with a foreign worker under the H-1B visa program. It is hard to encounter these stories and not seriously question why there has not been a more serious effort to reform the H-1B visa program.

These stories of H-1B visa program-related job loss are both all too common and heart-wrenching. Too many Americans, who are good at what they do, have been called into a room and told that they are being let go, after years of dedicated service, and even professional commendations from their employers.

I imagine that the experience of being laid off has to be difficult enough. But according to many reports, many Americans who have lost their jobs as a result of the H-1B visa program have suffered an added indignity: these Americans are frequently forced to train their foreign replacements. The individuals who are brought into the United States pursuant to H-1B visas are ostensibly supposed to be experts in their fields, but that is not what we are told by the Americans who have gone through these awful professional experiences. We are told that they are usually training very young people, who may or may not have even obtained legitimate undergraduate degrees. We are told that they do not have any choice but to oversee this training, and are told they must train their unskilled replacements or risk losing their severance packages, or even their pensions. This is an indignity that most Americans would find unacceptable, and we do, too.

Nor are the only victims of the broken H-1B visa program American citizens. There are too many accounts of how the current H-1B visa program, in the absence of adequate executive and legislative oversight, permits what is essentially indentured servitude of foreign nationals. Foreign workers, mostly from poverty-ravaged India, are brought to the United States and forced to work in what some have described as poor or abusive conditions. Unfamiliar with American laws regarding the rights of employees, many of these foreign national employees suffer in silence. Even the foreign workers who know they are being mistreated do not speak up, because their income potential in the United States, even under less-than-perfect conditions, is preferable to poverty in India.

This is a problem in many states, but it is certainly a problem in my home state of Texas. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s own figures, a grand total of 110,093 H-1B visas were requested by companies or other entities that are based in Texas. That is a staggering figure, but what is more staggering is the number of H-1B visas that were requested by so-called H-1B dependent employers: 52,477. That means that, out of the 110,093 H-1B visas that were requested by Texas companies or entities, 52,477 of the H-1B visas requested (or nearly 48% of them, or one out of every two) were requested by companies or entities whose workforces had a minimum of 15% of their employees in the United States as a result of H-1B visas. The very fact that current law allows for an American employer to be categorized as an H-1B dependent employer is a metaphor for the problem with the program.

In fairness, the H-1B visa program is not misused or abused by all of the employers who have availed themselves of the program. But the instances of abuse and the volume of abuse, particularly at large, private companies like ABC-Disney, are increasingly in the public eye, speak to embedded flaws in the H-1B visa program, and must be addressed, for the sake of Americans’ economic security and our nation’s future economic prosperity.

I would be remiss if I did not also mention today that it is because of the hard work and persistence of dedicated supporters of American professionals, such as Professors Ron Hira and Hal Salzman, and attorney John Miano (all of whom are here today to provide testimony), that the flaws and loopholes of the H-1B visa program have been brought into the light. For years, these and an array of other H-1B visa program abuses have gone unnoticed by many, including many here in Congress. The American people have now demanded leadership, and we owe it to them to lead on this issue.

I am proud to not only have the chance to contribute to this hearing today, but to work with Senator Sessions to bring about serious H-1B visa program reform. Specifically, Senator Sessions and I introduced S. 2394, the “American Jobs First Act,” in December. Our H-1B visa program reform legislation has been praised by pro-immigration reform groups like NumbersUSA and even some of the toughest critics of the H-1B visa program. Just yesterday, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Alabama) introduced the companion legislation in the House of Representatives, which means our H-1B visa program reform bill is the only H-1B visa program reform bill out there that is introduced in both chambers of Congress. With some effort, we can send it to President Obama’s desk in the next few months.

While Senator Sessions and I think our bill would take bold steps to reform the H-1B visa program, other bipartisan pieces of H-1B visa program reform legislation are out there, and offer different approaches to fixing the broken H-1B visa program. I think I can speak on behalf of Senator Sessions when I say that we would very much be open to adding Republican and Democrat co-sponsors to our bill. I look forward to working with my colleagues here in Congress, with President Obama, and the American people to put American jobs first again. 

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