MTG blames youth culture in H1-B labor fight: ‘Put down the selfie light’
MAGA world is fighting over the H1-B visa, which allows nonimmigrant aliens to work in the U.S. in specialized occupations. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) entered the fray with a new screed blaming youth culture.
The main fight over H1-B is between big tech and immigration hardliners in the Republican party. People brought over to work on a H-1B visa have specialized skills. These skills can be in any industry—for example, the Department of Labor's own page specifically calls out "fashion models of distinguished merit and ability" as eligible. But it's tech workers at the center of the latest row.
H1-B visas became a flashpoint following President-elect Donald Trump naming Sriram Krishnan as AI policy adviser, according to Newsweek. Though a naturalized American citizen—and thus not covered by the H1-B—his Indian heritage caused some, including Laura Loomer, to suggest that Silicon Valley is icing out American workers from employment.
Big tech however, has said that its hiring policies are necessary to get the greatest talent, leading some others, like Greene, to put the blame at Americans' feet for not getting hired.
"However, I fully believe we must make the hard and necessary changes here in the U.S. to educate, build, and facilitate a solid foundation of knowledgeable, highly skilled, talented, well paid, AMERICAN workers. Not having this is like having a crumbling foundation in our house and currently we are importing foreigners to hold up the foundation walls and plug the leaks," Greene wrote, in part, on Friday morning in a long post to X (formerly Twitter).
Citing her experience owning a construction company, she blames American culture for not "[respecting] hard work and productivity."
"Too many of our young people, are killing their bodies and minds on alcohol and drugs, wasting years and money earning useless college degrees, chasing unrealistic dreams, spending all their time trying to be the next you tuber/content creator/social media influencer instead of pursuing a useful skill set/trade/education in order to become a part of our much needed American workforce," she wrote.
"If you fall in this category, put down the selfie light, and go apply for a job and replace the H1-B visa holders and all the other skilled labor jobs that foreign workers are taking and American companies are desperately trying to hire," she added.
"It’s called building a career, you work your way up."
However, while "building a career" was more common in the past in America, career progression has stalled for many, according to research from recruiter Hays USA. Almost half of workers surveyed—48%—say they don't have any opportunities to progress, according to the trade magazine The HR Director.
“Workers are clearly feeling stuck as they have limited opportunities to progress their careers both within and outside of their organisations. Our research highlights a critical issue for employers: as soon as workers feel more confident to move jobs, we’re likely to see part two of the Great Resignation," Hays UK&I COO Pam Lindsay-Dunn told the magazine.
Layoffs are also common as companies, even when experiencing massive profits, still downsize. Over half of workers, 53%, say they "feel replaceable," according to Forbes. And one need only look to the games industry to see why—despite $184 billion in sales, there were over 10,000 layoffs in 2023, according to Polygon.
It's numbers like that that make clear the issue isn't workers coming in on H1-B visas, nor the kids being too into the Tikkity Toks to get a real job. The issue is executives chasing endless growth at the expense of the workers who make the products they sell. When workers are seen as replaceable cogs, is it surprising that some are asking what the point is?