Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) tore into 20 Democrat-controlled states suing the Trump Administration over its H-1B visa restrictions.
Sen. Schmitt systematically exposed how the program marketed as importing “highly skilled” foreign workers has instead become a vehicle for replacing American employees with cheaper overseas labor in a viral Twitter thread that captures the America First movement’s core grievances about immigration policy.
The Missouri Republican began his examination by highlighting the fundamental contradiction at the heart of the lawsuit.
“20 Democrat states are suing the Trump Administration to block its H-1B visa crackdown. These states claim they need H-1Bs to import ‘skilled foreign workers.’ But let’s take a look at how they’re actually using these visas,” Schmitt wrote.
His investigation started with California, where the state’s attorney general accused the Trump Administration of trying to “shut out the skilled workers America depends on.” The AG claimed H-1Bs are needed to import “highly skilled foreign national workers” to address “nationwide labor shortages,” according to Schmitt’s thread.
Yet California’s record tells a starkly different story. Schmitt pointed to the notorious Southern California Edison case, where hundreds of American tech workers were terminated and then required to train their H-1B replacements as a condition of receiving severance packages.
“They told us they could replace one of us with three, four, or five Indian personnel and still save money,” said a laid-off SCE worker. “They said, we can get four Indian guys for cheaper than the price of you. Is that what ‘high-skilled immigration’ looks like to @AGRobBonta?” Schmitt asked.
The senator emphasized this pattern extends far beyond isolated incidents. “There are countless more cases like this, too many to recount in one thread. H-1Bs are largely used for tech and STEM occupations. But we’ve seen it used and abused egregiously, not to hire workers because they’re high-skilled specialists, but merely because they’re cheaper,” he wrote.
Schmitt highlighted the structural dynamics that enable this abuse. “As I noted last month, foreign workers on these programs need to be sponsored by a U.S. employer. As a result, they’re often uniquely compliant and hesitant to complain about subpar wages or conditions. Companies leverage this to maximize their profits.”
Wisconsin, another plaintiff in the lawsuit, features prominently in Schmitt’s examination. Harley Davidson, headquartered in Milwaukee, has faced federal litigation for collaborating with Indian outsourcing firms to terminate Wisconsin IT workers and compel them to train their H-1B replacements, according to his thread.
Connecticut presents an identical pattern. Schmitt noted that even the state’s Democratic senator has acknowledged multiple major Connecticut companies executing mass layoffs of American tech workers and forcing them to train their H-1B replacements.
One displaced Connecticut worker recalled not merely training his replacement, but instructing 10 additional workers back in India through web conferencing. “Read this story, process how outrageous it is, and then understand: This has happened to tens of thousands of Americans,” Schmitt emphasized.
In Illinois, another plaintiff state, one of the largest employers stands accused of terminating hundreds of Americans and requiring them to train their H-1B replacements. Schmitt described how the laid-off workers placed American flags outside their cubicles in protest before departing.
The senator highlighted an inconvenient truth for Democratic state attorneys general pursuing this litigation. “Once again, it’s worth pointing out: Illinois’ Democrat senator Dick Durbin slammed these layoffs publicly. He’s been pushing for H-1B reform for decades. There’s even a number of Democrat senators who have been sounding the alarm on this for a long time.”
This bipartisan concern undermines attempts to frame H-1B reform as extremism. “But that’s the point: H-1B abuse is so bad that it’s perhaps the one area of immigration restriction that still enjoys some bipartisan support. So all the smears about ‘right-wing extremism’ won’t work here. Democrat AGs have to explain why their OWN SENATORS are wrong,” Schmitt argued.
New Jersey’s inclusion in the lawsuit drew particular scrutiny. Schmitt revealed that Toys “R” Us brought in H-1B workers from India to shadow employees for weeks, even following them to restrooms, so the foreign workers could document how to perform the jobs themselves. The Americans were subsequently terminated.
“I could go on and on. In Washington, Microsoft recently announced mass layoffs while applying for thousands of H-1B visas. In Minnesota, many of the state’s largest employers have laid off Minnesotan IT workers, sometimes hundreds at a time, and outsourced them to India,” he continued.
Oregon’s participation in the lawsuit proved particularly ironic. The state’s Attorney General claimed H-1Bs allow employers like Oregon State University “to hire skilled foreign workers in specialized roles.” Schmitt responded by asking why OSU is applying for H-1Bs to fill intern positions.
The senator dismantled the core justification for the program. “Remember, the central argument from apologists for this system is that companies need H-1Bs because they can’t find an American to do the job. But in many cases, Americans literally WERE doing the jobs. And they got laid off and replaced with cheaper foreign labor.”
Schmitt’s thread took on a more personal tone as he considered the human cost. “These are often late-career workers. They don’t have the luxury of starting over. Read these stories from @CIS_org. These are real Americans. Mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters of this nation. Our fellow citizens. What are we doing to our own people?” he asked.
His conclusion captured the betrayal felt by Trump’s America First coalition. “As I’ve said before, the H-1Bs were sold as a way to keep America ‘globally competitive.’ Instead, they’ve been used to import millions of foreign nationals to replace American workers and transfer entire industries into the hands of foreign lobbies.”
Schmitt’s documentation of H-1B abuse across Democratic states suing the Trump Administration provides the America First movement with concrete evidence supporting their demands for immigration restriction.
Of all the issues, immigration restriction remains the one that animates Trump’s base. If elected officials don’t address this issue, the United States will be irreversibly transformed in terms of its demographics.
