Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Trump Administration Plans to Raise Seasonal-Worker Cap
The Wall Street Journal ^ | 20 Feb 2020 | Michelle Hackman

Posted on 02/21/2020 12:38:49 PM PST by Theoria

The Trump administration plans to allow 45,000 additional seasonal guest workers to return to the U.S. this summer, the highest number since the president took office, according to three administration officials.

The Department of Homeland Security plans to announce the additional seasonal-worker visas next week, an administration official said. They will become available in two waves: the first 20,000 will be immediately available, while employers can apply for the remainder for jobs beginning June 1.

It wasn’t clear whether the White House has fully signed off on the numbers, and an administration official cautioned they could change.

The additional visas are being made available ahead of the summer, when demand for short-term work is typically highest.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf “has made no decision yet on the issue,” a DHS spokesperson said. “Any numbers reported on at this time are being pushed to press by junior staff who are not privy to all of the discussions taking place.”

The seasonal worker program, known as the H-2B visa program, enables U.S. employers to hire as many as 66,000 foreign workers a year, with the allotments split evenly between the winter and summer seasons. Congress permits the Department of Homeland Security each year to raise that cap by as many as 64,000 additional visas.

In Mr. Trump’s first two years in office, DHS raised the cap by 15,000 visas to 81,000, and last year it raised the cap by 30,000 to 96,000.

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government
KEYWORDS: agriculture; americanswontdo; anchorbaby; corporatewelfare; economy; guestworkers; hireamerican; immigration; jebonomics; maralago; migrantworkers; trumpdhs; visa; welfarestate
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100 ... 141-148 next last
To: Hot Tabasco

You have to be a troll!!!!


61 posted on 02/21/2020 2:55:02 PM PST by amihow
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 58 | View Replies]

To: Hot Tabasco
you know why your kid or any other person doesn't want to do that manual labor..They're too lazy!

If my employer was offering only half of what they pay me for the job I do, I'd be "too lazy" to do it for that price - but they're not gimmedat whiners like some hirers, so they pay the market salary and I go do the job.

62 posted on 02/21/2020 2:56:34 PM PST by NobleFree ("law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 60 | View Replies]

To: amihow
Naw, he just has a vested interest in low wages, and lacks the shrewdness to make any less transparent arguments.
63 posted on 02/21/2020 2:57:37 PM PST by NobleFree ("law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 61 | View Replies]

To: NobleFree
Let me get this right, instead of increasing the number of legal seasonal workers into this country, you want a raise in the minimum wage in order to attract more Americans to these manual labor jobs.

Am I right?

So what is that minimum wage you are requesting that would put an end to the need for H2-B seasonal workers?

64 posted on 02/21/2020 3:07:11 PM PST by Hot Tabasco (I want an impeachment pen)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 62 | View Replies]

To: Hot Tabasco

“you want a raise in the minimum wage”

Wrong - minimum wage is artificially above the market wage for many jobs. Employers should be free to pay no more than it takes to get an American to do a job - but have no right to pay less than it takes. That’s the market.


65 posted on 02/21/2020 3:10:57 PM PST by NobleFree ("law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 64 | View Replies]

To: Hot Tabasco

Four issues not being discussed on this thread...

(1) New immigrant citizens vote 80% for the Democrat Party.

(2) Since 2016, Trump has naturalized 3 million new citizens and issued 4.4 million new Green Cards.

(3) Win or lose in 2020, Trump will be the last Republican President in American history - because of massive LEGAL immigration.

(4) Cheap labor allows business owners and executives to indefinitely postpone essential capital investments that would increase American productivity.

Each one of those facts is an existential threat for American Conservatives.


66 posted on 02/21/2020 3:20:40 PM PST by zeestephen
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 58 | View Replies]

To: zeestephen
Each one of those facts is an existential threat for American Conservatives.

But irrelevant to the current fiscal quarter for corporate globalists and other welfare-seeking employers.

67 posted on 02/21/2020 3:48:19 PM PST by NobleFree ("law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 66 | View Replies]

To: livius

From what I’ve seen, the biggest problem in construction is that the work isn’t stable enough. Every person I know who worked in the building trades in 2008 has changed careers because they couldn’t handle the instability of the industry after that disastrous recession. There are a few really good former electricians and telecom guys in my circle of friends who are doing other things right now, and I suspect nothing short of $1,000/hour will ever get them back.


68 posted on 02/21/2020 4:30:38 PM PST by Alberta's Child ("Oh, but it's hard to live by the rules; I never could and still never do.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: Hot Tabasco

That mighty white of you.

But i’m sure it’s to get around cutbacks and get more tech workers.

“Seasonal” can mean what a company wants it to mean.

The number should be ZERO


69 posted on 02/21/2020 6:09:29 PM PST by dp0622 (Radicals, racists Don't point finger at me I'm a small town white boy Just tryin' to makne ends meet)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Theoria

Of course the Adminstration is raising the cap, this program is essential to the operation of the Trump Organization’s resorts in Florida and New Jersey.


70 posted on 02/21/2020 6:42:05 PM PST by oincobx
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: zeestephen
Each one of those facts is an existential threat for American Conservatives.

Let's see what the answer is.

We can count on greatly increasing the birth rate of native Americans, or we can live with zero to negative growth in the economy yet pray for a better standard of living for our kids, or we can accept some growth via immigration and have some confidence in the strength of our principles.

The notion that only native born Americans can embrace our values and grow the country is defeatist.

I don't think people gain their values based on geography.

71 posted on 02/21/2020 6:45:02 PM PST by semimojo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 66 | View Replies]

To: oincobx

The Trump Organiztion has reuqested permission to hire 80 workers at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach through the federal government’s H-2B visa program, according to CareerSource Palm Beach County, the nonprofit job placement agency. That’s up from 78 foreign workers hired at Mar-a-Lago in 2018-19.

The Trump Organization lso asked for 14 visas for workers at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, up from 12 during the 2018-19 high season.


72 posted on 02/21/2020 7:10:12 PM PST by oincobx
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 70 | View Replies]

To: semimojo

‘We can count on greatly increasing the birth rate of native Americans’

We can make it happen: “an increase in the tax value of the personal exemption of 50 dollars will increase the general fertility rate by 6 to 12 births per 1000 women [from a base of 95.5]” - Whittington, Leslie & Alm, James & Peters, H.. (1990). Fertility and the Personal Exemption: Implicit Pronatalist Policy in the United States. The American economic review. 80. 545-56. (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11733793_Fertility_and_the_Personal_Exemption_Implicit_Pronatalist_Policy_in_the_United_States)

‘or we can accept some growth via immigration and have some confidence in the strength of our principles.’

We’ve added over 50 million people via immigration in the past few decades; let’s see the strength of our principles assimilate them before we bring in more.


73 posted on 02/21/2020 7:20:34 PM PST by NobleFree ("law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 71 | View Replies]

To: NobleFree
We can make it happen...

Our birth rate has dropped from 15.6 per 1K when that paper was published to 12 per 1K today.

What's going to change our behavior?

We’ve added over 50 million people via immigration in the past few decades; let’s see the strength of our principles assimilate them before we bring in more.

Where would our economy and standard of living be if we had 50M fewer consumers/workers?

74 posted on 02/21/2020 7:40:11 PM PST by semimojo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 73 | View Replies]

To: semimojo
Our birth rate has dropped from 15.6 per 1K when that paper was published to 12 per 1K today.

Their findings weren't implemented.

What's going to change our behavior?

Implement their findings.

Where would our economy and standard of living be if we had 50M fewer consumers/workers?

Better off, if those 50M consumed more than they produced - as there's every reason to believe they did, since they were not admitted on the basis of valuable skills.

75 posted on 02/21/2020 8:00:12 PM PST by NobleFree ("law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 74 | View Replies]

To: Hot Tabasco

As long as they are not Indian or Communist Chinese H1B foreign trash, no problem


76 posted on 02/21/2020 8:00:41 PM PST by Starcitizen (American. No hypenation necessary. Send the H1B and H4EAD slime home. American jobs for Americans)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: NobleFree
Implement their findings.

Even the authors admit that their prescription would have a minimal impact on fertility rate:

"Although the elasticity of the birthrate with respect to the exemption is not large, it appears that the US can influence to a degree the fertility decisions of its citizens through deliberate changes in tax policies."

In fact, the inflation adjusted personal exemption did increase from 1990 to 2017 but the birthrate continued to decline.

77 posted on 02/21/2020 9:10:02 PM PST by semimojo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 75 | View Replies]

To: zeestephen; SkyPilot; null and void

[ Win or lose in 2020, Trump will be the last Republican President in American history ]

Pretty much but also George W. Bush may be the last Republican President - Because during his 2nd term he seemed to go left and so did a lot of the Republicans.

President Trump but be our last (patriotic) American President. Because he was never a D.C. insider. Like all the others.

A little ping to a couple guys who probably already know why I pinged them (cough).


78 posted on 02/21/2020 11:07:31 PM PST by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 66 | View Replies]

To: semimojo
(1) Japan has had a negative birth rate for more than 10 years. They have the third highest GDP in the world, and their population is less than Mexico.

(2) A majority of native born Americans vote Socialist. A super majority of Third World-born Americans vote Socialist.

I am pursuing the modest goal of slowing down America's political suicide - nothing more, nothing less.

(3) Re: “I don't think people gain their values based on geography.”

You are not looking at the same globe I am. Northern Europe, USA, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand.

I am a money guy.

Because - when you are poor or broke, absolutely nothing else matters.

79 posted on 02/21/2020 11:24:37 PM PST by zeestephen
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 71 | View Replies]

To: Theoria
It wasn’t clear whether the White House has fully signed off on the numbers, and an administration official cautioned they could change.

“Any numbers reported on at this time are being pushed to press by junior staff who are not privy to all of the discussions taking place.”


Who on FreeRepublic believes this article?

Ping me. I have a great deal on a bridge for sale.
80 posted on 02/21/2020 11:34:04 PM PST by PA Engineer (Liberate America from the Occupation Media.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100 ... 141-148 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson