US-INDIA GLOBAL REVIEW JUL-SEP 2020

in the H-1B, EB 2 and EB 3 cate- gories, have jobs which actually end up creating many, many more jobs for Americans. So by stop- ping them, we will be shipping a lot of these jobs overseas." But the administration believes this move will prevent those employers who may be low-balling immigrant tech workers' salaries resulting in displacing American workers. "Well, if the company hires a bunch of immigrants and then subcontracts them out to another company -- say, Disney or AT&T, to just pick two historical exam- ples -- then they end up displac- ing American workers at Disney and AT&T, both of which infa- mously had their American citizen employees training their H-1B replacements as their last act," the official cited an old example, an anti-immigration trope that plays out prior to most elections. Regulations to prevent this, the official said, are soon to come. A lot of Americans are out of a job at this time, Khatri noted, "But the President and his advisors need to think strategically. This short term fix may have a nega- tive effect long term." When companies can get much cheaper workers abroad the incentive to bring them here to do the job, will be gone, he says. "These are workers that cannot be replaced by American workers right now. So if we say no new technology workers can come into the country in next six month, all the companies are going to do is contract it to say India, instead of them being here and spending their money here," Khatri said. The Department of Labor has also been instructed by the President to change the prevailing wage calculation and "clean it up" the administration official said, with respect to H-1B wages, set- ting them at the upper end of earnings "-- again, so we’re get- ting the best and the brightest, we’re adding the most value to the economy, and we’re maximizing the opportunity for Americans to get jobs." The Labor Secretary will also be authorized to conduct investi- gations into any H-1B abuses, the official said. "That's already in the law," Khatri pointed out. Other more permanent changes would include use of bio- metrics prior to entry, and checks to insure against COVID-19 enter- ing the country. The Executive Order is bound to affect American and Indian companies operating here, who hire technology workers, a large proportion of them from India. The Trump administration offi- cial emphasized that the meas- ures were temporary. "They are short term. The long-term meas- ures will have much longer-term effect, but they're not in the 525,000 job count," the official clarified. The senior official also contend- ed that the pausing of green cards for the last 60 days had caused some 50,000 jobs to be freed up. The Center for Immigration Studies, which is for restricting immigration, was pleased with the latest Proclamation. "It's very good. Not everything we need (formal regulations are also need- ed because they're harder to reverse) but it's not just window- dressing. It even suspends au pairs, which I never thought I'd see," tweeted Mark Krikorian, executive director of CIS. Meanwhile, Immigration Voice, an advocacy organization for legal immigrants on high skill visas, and the bill S386 (Fairness bill) which lifts the country cap for green cards, said, it would continue to get that legislation passed even if the Trump Executive Order has been passed. "For many months, we all have heard the rumblings about these possible upcoming EOs and IFRs (Interim Final Regulations). We believe that such actions are unfair, unjust, and in violation of current laws," Immigration Voice said on Facebook. It plans to file legal challenges against the orders. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce spells out its "priority" in immigration reform to protecting Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status workers, and H-4 employ- ment authorization for spouses, and raising the caps for employ- ment-based visa programs to pro- vide employers with the ability to meet their workforce needs, and encouraging oversight of adminis- trative actions that hnder the abili- ty of employers to hire or continue employing legal immigrant work- ers. 14 US-INDIA GLOBAL REVIEW JULY-SEPTEMBER 2020 Ela Dutt | Editor, Parikh Worldwide Media