This story first appeared in Power Shift, The Yappie's weekly newsletter on national AAPI power, politics, and influence. Subscribe for free here.
For years, the GOP has tapped into blue-collar workers’ fears to crack down on undocumented immigration at the border. Now, they’re using the same playbook to target H-1B visas, reframing it as an affordability issue amid heightened economic anxiety among Americans.
What’s happening: Republicans haven’t been faring well on the affordability crisis. Between the Iran War driving up gas prices, ongoing tariffs increasing costs for consumers and a sluggish job market for recent grads, especially in tech and other high skilled jobs, it’s no surprise young people feel especially squeezed by the economy.
- With the midterm clock ticking down, conservatives’ shift to target skilled workers could be a last-ditch effort to gain support.
After weeks of inflammatory GOP rhetoric accusing Asians—especially South Asians—of trying to replace white Americans by stealing educational resources and job opportunities, the State Department launched a new online tip form for reporting visa fraud this month.
- The launch quickly led to many social media users directly encouraging people to report visa holders of “Islamic” or “Indian” origin.
The Labor Department’s inspector general also announced that the office is ramping up subpoenas, search warrants, and suspensions involving companies that employ foreign labor, after estimating that suspected H-1B fraud could cost $20 billion a year.
- How that number was calculated—and who exactly it’s costing—is unclear.
The stakes: Asian immigrants have historically used visas like the H-1B as a means to move to and work in the U.S. People born in India accounted for nearly three-quarters of workers whose H-1B applications were approved in 2023, according to Pew. People born in China were the second largest share, at about 12%.
- For current and prospective H-1B workers, staying in the U.S. has become increasingly difficult, especially after the White House imposed and extended a $100,000 filing fee through at least next year, per Reuters.
Some Republicans, including Reps. Riley Moore of West Virginia and Brandon Gill of Texas, are calling to do away with H-1B visas entirely.
- Much of their frustration and anger is directed at Indian and other South Asian Americans, a sentiment that has only grown since Texas railroad commissioner candidate Bo French linked South Asian students celebrating a UT Austin football victory to the Great Replacement Theory.
The reality: New visas are capped at 85,000 total per year—0.05% of the U.S. civilian workforce, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates, making it difficult to back up allegations of an “Indian takeover.”
Our take: Trump allies’ efforts to blame both H-1B workers (whom they broadly describe as “legal”) and undocumented immigrants (whom they consider “illegal”) for growing affordability and employment crises affect broad swaths of Asian communities regardless of citizenship status.
- Perhaps for conservatives finding various arguments to oppose different classes of immigration, what matters most isn’t whether someone has the right papers, but their fear of the “Other” and the potential of losing concentrated power.
About The Yappie: The Yappie is an independent, nonprofit newsroom dedicated to tracking Asian American and Pacific Islander power, politics, and influence. Learn more at theyappie.com/about.
