Trump Is Betraying U.S. Workers, ‘Hate Group’ Says

An immigration reform organization labeled as a “hate group” for ties to white supremacist groups is taking aim at President Donald Trump, alleging that he’s reneging on a campaign promise to protect U.S. workers.

According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), Trump is betraying a campaign promise to “be the champion of American workers who have been hit hard by mass immigration, unfavorable trade deals and globalization.”

The group’s beef? H-2B guest worker visas, which “allow [qualified] U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently announced plans to approve additional H-2B guest worker visas this summer, potentially paving the way for thousands of temporary workers to get low-skilled jobs in the United States.

On Friday, FAIR stated that more H-2B visa approvals would amount to “an absolute betrayal of the very workers President Trump has pledged to protect.”

According to a FAIR statement:

“Under pressure from business lobbyists, Congress included a gaping loophole in last month’s omnibus spending bill that could potentially double the number of low-skilled guest workers authorized to fill U.S. jobs. The business-backed provision exempts returning H-2B workers from the annual cap of 66,000 visas… The administration’s decision to exceed the 66,000 cap not only undermines struggling American workers, but betrays unequivocal promises President Trump made in his campaign.”

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FAIR President Dan Stein said that Trump has pledged to combat the issues that make it difficult for poor and working-class Americans – including immigrants themselves and their children – to earn a middle-class wage.

“That statement is just as true now as it was when Donald Trump was on the campaign trail promising to be the champion of American workers,” Stein said.

“While Congress authorized vast increases in H-2B visas, it is up to the president and Secretary [John] Kelly to decide whether they should be issued,” Stein posited. “They most emphatically should not. There is a glut of available workers to fill these jobs in the United States, which is reflected in high unemployment and long-term declines in wages in these sectors of the labor market.”

While some U.S. corporate interests – such as the American Hotel & Lodging Association – have praised the DHS decision as a prudent choice that will “help small and seasonal businesses to meet their peak season workforce demands,” it’s not an argument that Stein is buying.

“There is nothing that compels President Trump to capitulate to the self-serving demands of business lobbyists,” Stein stated. “Our economy does not need a vast infusion of guest workers, and the American workers who turned out in large numbers to disrupt the status quo certainly won’t benefit from it either.”

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WHO IS FAIR?

FAIR, which has been branded as a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center, calls itself “the country’s largest immigration reform group.”

The organization claims to have 1.3 million members who believe “that immigration reform must enhance national security, improve the economy, protect jobs, preserve our environment and establish a rule of law that is recognized and enforced.”

FAIR has applauded other immigration-related decisions from the Trump administration in the past, such as the Department of Homeland Security’s recent decision to roll back Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), but has criticized other aspects of his presidency, such as an apparent rolling back on his promise to build a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

Read FAIR’s reaction to the SPLC’s “hate group” designation here, and check out an example of their stance on immigration reform in the below video.

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Main Photo: Wikimedia Commons