US Vice President JD Vance defended the Trump administration’s crackdown on alleged visa fraud, saying American jobs should go to American workers and not be taken away by those abusing the system.
His remarks came as US authorities launched a major investigation into suspected fraud involving the H-1B and PERM visa programmes, which are widely used by employers to hire foreign professionals.
Speaking about the probe, Vance said, “We’re fighting for your taxpayer money, but we’re also making sure that fraudsters don’t take advantage of these visa programs.”
“This is a visa program that was set up to ensure that if you are a brilliant technology person or a brilliant scientist or a brilliant doctor, you could come to the United States and get access to this visa program,” he added while speaking at an event in Milwaukee.
Vance listed a “simple principle”, saying, “American jobs ought to go to American workers and not foreign fraudsters.”
He alleged that some companies and individuals have been exploiting the programme to drive down wages for American workers.
“Big corporations and fraudsters overseas are using this program to undercut the wages of Americans. Today, the Federal Department of Labour has started dozens of subpoenas and investigations into foreign fraudsters who are trying to take advantage of the H-1B visa program.”
Trump’s visa fraud probe
Vance’s comments came after the Trump administration launched its first major investigation into suspected fraud in the H-1B and PERM visa categories. The action is being carried out under the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, led by the vice president.
The probe is examining allegations that employers and labour brokers misused the programmes intended to fill genuine labour shortages in the United States.
According to an official statement, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) under the Department of Labor uncovered what it described as widespread schemes involving fraudulent visa applications, coercive wage-kickback arrangements and practices that allegedly allowed employers to hire workers at below-market wages, reported news agency PTI.
The statement said such practices harmed American workers by increasing competition from lower-paid labour while also exploiting foreign workers.
Indian IT firm in focus
The investigation has also put Indian IT giant Cognizant in focus. Speaking to Fox Business, Labour Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said authorities had already begun issuing subpoenas as part of the investigation.
“We’ve already started to issue dozens of subpoenas; we are going to make sure that we track down every lead. We have whistleblowers talking about some of the biggest companies like Cognizant, who have been sort of, you know, in the chatter of issues with PERM and H-1B visas,” D’Esposito told Fox Business on Wednesday.
US officials said the investigation is aimed at preserving the integrity of labour programmes that were designed to address genuine workforce shortages rather than serve as a tool for abuse.
“These abuses undermine the integrity of Department of Labour programs designed to address genuine labour shortages – not to line the pockets of bad actors at the expense of American jobs,” the statement said, the news agency reported.
