For over thirty years, America’s H-2B nonimmigrant visa program has permitted employers to hire nonimmigrants on a temporary basis to perform nonagricultural labor or services in the United States.
The H-2B program has a history of bipartisan support because it is a legal option that allows seasonal businesses to support their year-round American workforces during their peak months – think crab processors in Maryland, hotels in coastal Maine and reforestation contractors in Oregon.
Recently, NumbersUSA – an anti-immigration advocacy organization that seeks to reduce both legal and illegal immigration to the United States – published an action alert urging the House of Representatives to remove Congressman Andy Harris’ H-2B amendment from the FY25 DHS Appropriations bill. In this alert, NumbersUSA published numerous misleading claims that must be corrected.
What is the Harris H-2B amendment? For the last seven years, Congress has authorized discretion to DHS to release up to 64,716 additional H-2B visas. The Harris amendment would simply remove DHS’ discretion, leaving the current number of visas intact. In 2023 and 2024, DHS released 64,716 additional visas. This still fell short of meeting the program demand by 50%. The amendment would maintain the same level of H-2B visa issuances as the last two years, roughly 130,000, allowing employers with a demonstrated seasonal or peak load need, to request temporary guest workers. The amendment would not result in an increase of H-2B issuances. It would merely provide employers the certainty that the current visa number will be maintained.
Claim by NumbersUSA: The House Appropriations Committee reported to the floor a Department of Homeland Security spending bill that includes an adopted amendment mandating a doubling of H-2B visas from 66,000 to 132,000.
At a time where documented exploitation within both visa programs is exploding it is unconscionable for Congress to double down on cheap foreign labor.
Correction: As previously referenced, the Harris amendment does not double the number of H-2B visas, it merely maintains the same number of issuances as the last two years. Additionally, NumbersUSA fails to provide substantiated evidence for their claim of “documented exploitation,” because the Department of Labor (DOL) data does not support their allegations. In 2023, DOL took enforcement actions against 27 employees in the landscape industry. These represent only 0.5% of applications filed within that sector. Furthermore, these violations accounted for just 3.1% of the total landscaping workers employed by H-2B employers.
FY2023 H-2B Landscape Occupational Data
| Visa Issued | Workers Represented in Violations | Percentage of Worker Violations | Petitions Filed | Percentage |
| 50,540 | 1,614 | 3.1% | 4,613 | 0.6% |
*visas issued and petitions filed are approximated based off of landscaping positions representing 38% of DOL positions certified in 2023.
Moreover, most H-2B program violations are minor in nature, such as instances where the Employer Identification Number (EIN) is not printed on a paycheck. Typically, these infractions lead to civil monetary penalties of less than $10,000.
Claim by NumbersUSA: The chairperson of the last bipartisan commission on immigration reform, Barbara Jordan, warned, “Immigration policy must protect U.S. workers against unfair competition from foreign workers, with an appropriately higher level of protection to the most vulnerable of our society.” Yet, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in May of 2024, the number of Black American workers employed fell by 169,000. The official unemployment rate for Black workers is 53% higher than the rate for all workers and 74% higher than for White workers. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.a.htm. This is a continuation of the trend throughout the term of the Biden Administration. A similar Bureau of Labor Statistics report published last spring found that Black workers made up nearly 90%, 267,000 of the 300,000, new unemployment cases, with the then current unemployment rate for Black workers at 6 percent, nearly twice the rate of White workers which sat at 3.1 percent.
The impact on Black American workers is a poignant example of how increasing H2A and H2B visas at this time hurts all American workers seeking to hold on during record inflation and economic uncertainty. Congress should turn its attention to removing unnecessary foreign competition to tighten the labor market for the benefit of the struggling working class.
Correction: H-2B employers must advertise their job openings widely, including on state and national job banks, ensuring that all Americans, regardless of background, can apply. There is no evidence to suggest that H-2B employers discriminate against hiring American workers; they prioritize local hires whenever possible because a stable domestic workforce is crucial to their operations.
It’s understandable that Americans seek stable, year-round employment, and many prefer not to engage in seasonal work. In a robust economy, the focus should be on creating not just job opportunities, but permanent, sustainable job opportunities for all Americans. Seasonal, manual labor jobs, while important, may not align with the career desires and aspirations of most Americans.
SEA is committed to ensuring all Americans, including in communities with high unemployment, are made aware of H-2B jobs. However, no one can be forced to take a job. This is a choice. We will continue to work with stakeholders to pursue solutions that ensure under and unemployed Americans are aware of every H-2B job offered.
Claim by NumbersUSA: Furthermore, at this time when unemployment is rising and much of the job growth we have seen has accrued to foreign workers as opposed to American workers, we need a Congress serious about creating a labor market that works for American workers. The number of foreign-born employed over the last year has increased by over 630,000 while the number of U.S.-born employed has decreased by 300,000. (BLS new release, Table A-7.)
The often heard mantra that “these are jobs that Americans will not do” is simply false. Out of 472 civilian occupations tracked by the government, all but six have a majority of U.S.-born workers. (https://cis.org/Report/Are-There-Really-Jobs-Americans-Wont-Do)
Correction: This claim is manifestly untrue. The issuance of an H-2B labor certification requires employers to actively seek and give preference to qualified American workers. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) grants an approved H-2B labor certification only after employers demonstrate that insufficient willing, qualified, and capable U.S. workers are available for the position.
The labor market test is not a mere formality, but a rigorous process. Employers are required to advertise the job on DOL’s online job bank, post it on state and national job banks, and notify current employees. Many seasonal employers go above and beyond these requirements, advertising through private sector job banks, local radio stations, billboards and trade journals. Only when these extensive recruitment efforts fail do employers turn to the H-2B program, using the H-2B program as a last resort, not a convenience.
During the full committee markup of the FY25 DHS Appropriations bill on June 12, 2024, Congresswoman Pingree (D-ME-1) made the point that in rural areas with a robust but short tourism season, there are not enough local American workers to cover the high demand for seasonal positions. Congressman Cuellar (D-TX-28) cited a GAO report indicating counties with H-2B employers generally experience lower unemployment rates and higher American weekly wages, underscoring these regions’ unique labor market dynamics. Cuellar further emphasized that H-2B workers help sustain year-round operations, thereby protecting the jobs of full-time, year-round American workers.
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