DHS Secretary Chad Wolf Approves 35K H-2B Foreign Workers to Take U.S. Jobs

Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Chad Wolf announced he will allow American businesses to import an additional 35,000 foreign workers to take non-agricultural jobs through the H-2B visa program.

Every year, U.S. companies are allowed to import 66,000 low-skilled H-2B foreign workers to take blue-collar, non-agricultural jobs. For some time, the H-2B visa program has been used by businesses to bring in cheaper, foreign workers and has contributed to blue-collar Americans having their wages undercut.

On Thursday, Wolf confirmed that DHS will ensure American businesses can hire an additional 35,000 H-2B foreign visa workers for non-agricultural jobs in the fishing, construction, hospitality, and restaurant industries.

Wolf said of the extra 35,000 foreign workers that 10,000 will be from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras “to stem the flow of illegal migration in the region and encourage lawful migration to the U.S.”

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This is the fourth consecutive year that President Trump’s DHS has approved more foreign workers to be imported by American businesses through the H-2B visa program. Wolf’s decision follows the same direction that former DHS Secretaries Kevin McAleenan, Kirstjen Nielsen, and John Kelly implemented.

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