'Hire American': Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Calls H-1B Visa System a Scam Benefiting Indians

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has described the H-1B visa system as a total scam, claiming that it primarily benefits professionals from India while reducing opportunities for American workers. In a Fox News interview, DeSantis said that the program no longer attracts the “cream of the crop” from around the world but has become a system companies exploit to cut costs.

On the impact on American workers, DeSantis said that while companies frequently lay off Americans, they continue hiring and renewing H-1B visas for foreign workers. He added, “Most of them are from one company or from one country, India. There’s a cottage industry about how all that people make money off this system,” referring to Indian professionals working in the US under H-1B visas.

DeSantis also emphasised the challenges that young Americans confront in a job market that is becoming more and more impacted by artificial intelligence. He argued that if AI is already displacing young workers, bringing in foreign H-1B employees could further limit opportunities for Americans. “So if that’s going to continue to produce dislocations, why would we be importing foreign workers when we have our own people that we need to take care of?” he said. He argued that companies often train US workers alongside H-1B employees only to replace Americans later.

The governor stressed that visa policies should prioritise American citizens. He also mentioned that unchecked foreign recruitment could hurt young Americans' career chances and advocated for improvements to the H-1B program to prevent exploitation.

Earlier, Lutnik Howard, United States Secretary of Commerce, also criticised the H-1B system on Twitter, saying that it allows foreign workers to take jobs that could go to American employees. He added that hiring American workers should be the priority for all leading American businesses, emphasising, “Now is the time to hire American.”

Comments from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and officials such as Howard have brought renewed attention to debates in the US surrounding the H-1B visa program and its effects on both American workers and foreign professionals.