WASHINGTON – U.S. employers will soon begin bringing in thousands more low-skilled foreign workers to fill seasonal jobs ranging from ski lift operators to crab pickers.
Critics say a newly expanded visa program – approved by Congress last month as part of a massive spending bill – will exploit foreign workers, take jobs from Americans, and hold down wages.
"What business owners are trying to get here is captive workers – people who are desperate and won't complain no matter how they are treated," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which wants to reduce immigration to the U.S. "They're importing a servile class.There's no excuse for this."
Supporters of the bigger H-2B visa program say it will help U.S. businesses hire enough people to do the temporary work that is vital for companies to meet consumer demand during peak seasons, whether it's summer at a beach resort or spring at a gardening company. The "seasonal" work can last as long as 10 months at a time.
"Our members' businesses are now spared the devastating hit they would have faced this spring without the availability of H-2B workers," said Sabeena Hickman, CEO of the National Association of Landscape Professionals. "Landscape professionals will be able to hire needed seasonal workers, support their American workforce and provide their customers with the continued service that they rely on."
The seasonal worker provision, sought by a coalition of industry groups that include hotels, restaurants, ski and beach resorts, construction companies and seafood processors, allows U.S. companies to bring in far more than the 66,000 workers a year that have been permitted to obtain visas in the past. The H-2B visa program does not include farm workers.
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Lawn & Landscape has recently reported on the H-2B decision. Click below to read those past articles.