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Former Rep. Bruce Morrison (D-Conn.) said the 1990 H-1B visa program he helped craft has been “hijacked” to routinely replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor. He made his comments during a special that aired Sunday on CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
CBS Evening News journalist Bill Whitaker explored the controversy surrounding the H-1B visa program, which allows American corporations to hire foreign workers. Morrison insisted the bill he helped create was intended to help companies fill scientific jobs with qualified candidates. He accused companies of shamelessly outsourcing thousands of jobs to younger, cheaper, and temporary foreign workers through a loophole that allows companies to hire the foreign workers for jobs paying over $60,000.
“I’m outraged. The H-1B has been hijacked as the main highway to bring people from abroad and displace Americans,” Morrison told Whitaker. “It’s really a travesty that should never have been allowed to happen.”
Morrison noted these types of scientific jobs often earn American workers $120,000 to $140,000 per year. But because foreign workers will take those jobs for far less, American companies often choose outsourcing over valuing their American workers.