Sen. Richard Durbin, a long-standing Democrat champion of migration policies, has just thrown a curveball by questioning the H-1B visa program alongside a Republican colleague.
Breitbart reported that in a rare bipartisan move, Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Durbin of Illinois have penned pointed letters to the CEOs of 10 corporate giants, challenging their reliance on foreign H-1B workers while American tech talent sits on the unemployment bench.
These letters, dispatched on Sept. 25, 2025, target heavyweights like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Walmart, with the senators demanding answers by October on why skilled American professionals are being sidelined.
Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Durbin, the committee’s top Democrat, aren’t mincing words, especially when federal data shows rising unemployment among young American graduates desperate for these white-collar roles.
The H-1B program currently employs about 1.2 million foreign workers in jobs that many argue should go to American couples trying to build a future—hardly the “win-win” narrative Big Tech often spins.
Take Walmart, for instance, recently tangled in claims that an executive handed a subcontract to an Indian H-1B firm for alleged kickbacks—yet another reason these senators are raising eyebrows.
“With all of the homegrown American talent relegated to the sidelines, we find it hard to believe that [you] cannot find qualified American tech workers,” the senators wrote in their letter, cutting straight to the hypocrisy of mass layoffs paired with foreign hires.
That quote stings because it’s true—how can companies cry “talent shortage” while firing skilled Americans by the thousands and then lottery-picking H-1B workers from India and China?
Meanwhile, on Sept. 19, 2025, former President Donald Trump entered the fray with a proclamation slapping modest curbs on the H-1B program, arguing it undermines both economic stability and national security.
Trump’s order also introduced a hefty $100,000 fee per H-1B visa recipient—though whether it’s a one-time or annual charge remains unclear, leaving businesses and critics scratching their heads.
He didn’t stop there, pointing to visa fraud and money laundering tied to outsourcing firms reliant on H-1B workers, a dirty underbelly that’s long been whispered about but rarely tackled.
While some cheer this as a step toward protecting American jobs, others like Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington warn it could cripple research and economic growth—a fair concern, but shouldn’t homegrown talent come first?
Even some Democratic-aligned leaders are starting to break ranks on H-1B, while investor groups like FWD.us push for higher caps and special pathways for STEM experts and U.S. graduates—an idea that sounds noble but risks flooding the market further.
Then there’s Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana, tossing his hat in with a bill to hike wage requirements for H-1B holders and swap the lottery for a bidding system, a market-driven fix that might just cut through the nonsense.
With foreign STEM workers doubling from 1.2 million to 2.5 million between 2000 and 2019—while overall STEM jobs grew far more slowly—and groups like U.S. Tech Workers planning a Capitol Hill event on Nov. 10, 2025, to share personal stories, it’s clear this debate isn’t going away anytime soon.